Meta and Amazon pledge $1 billion each in incentives for communities with data centers — Fortune
In the United States, Meta and Amazon said they would each spend $1 billion on financial incentives for communities hosting data centers. Google said that by the end of 2027, its investments in local programs in communities with data centers would reach $1 billion. As Fortune reports, technology corporations are responding to growing resident opposition to the construction of large server complexes.
Promises of greater transparency
Google’s global head of development and community engagement, Devi Thomas, told the Associated Press that she would not call opposition to data centers a backlash. At the same time, she said communities have questions that need to be addressed. According to her, early public consultations are becoming increasingly important.
Amazon introduced the Amazon Data Center Commitment program. The company pledged to disclose more data on data centers’ energy and water consumption, as well as improve the environmental performance of backup diesel generators. Amazon, Microsoft and Google also said they would no longer require public officials to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Such agreements could result in residents not knowing about a project until it was brought before a municipal council vote. Meta Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs Lindsey Eline said the company is reviewing its practice of using non-disclosure agreements.
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Opposition and political pressure
Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft forecast combined capital expenditures of more than $600 billion this year, mostly for building data centers in the United States. Demand for electricity from such facilities began raising consumer bills last year in a grid covering 13 states, from Illinois to New Jersey and Maryland.
The technology giants pledged to pay for energy infrastructure costs for their data centers. Google also said it would pay the full property tax on buildings and land for all new data center campuses, while Microsoft said it would forgo certain local tax incentives.
Critics of the initiatives remain skeptical. Sam Burley, who helped found the Concerned Citizens of Montour County group in rural Pennsylvania to oppose a potential Amazon-backed data center, called the company’s commitments “propaganda.” Local residents continue to demand that municipalities reject such projects, while a growing number of communities are imposing moratoriums on data center construction.
