Microsoft promises to fully pay for electricity, replenish water that data centers use

Microsoft is pledging to pay for the full costs borne by communities where AI data centers are being built. The tech giant says it will work to keep electric bills from rising and water resources from being drained by the giant server farms.

Microsoft’s announcement comes amid growing public backlash against data centers. That backlash has led to tens of billions of dollars in projects being delayed or canceled in recent months. 

“Communities are asking us hard and pointed questions about the impact of data centers,” said Rima Alaily, who heads Microsoft’s infrastructure legal affairs team. “Data centers are growing at a rapid scale, and it's something that is really new for communities to have to grapple with.”

The biggest concerns have been rising electricity costs and the large amounts of water many data centers consume for cooling. 

Microsoft is promising — among other things — to pay the full cost of the electricity it consumes and to replenish more water than it uses.

“When I looked at the Microsoft plan, it almost aligns perfectly with the arguments that are often made against data centers in communities in Pennsylvania,” said Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. 

He has seen the angry town hall meetings in his state. “And if there's one particular aspect right now of where the issue is connecting to individuals, it's through their electricity prices,” he said.

President Donald Trump highlighted Microsoft’s electricity commitment earlier this week and said his administration is talking to other data center builders to do the same.