Amazon investing in data center host cities
Amazon says it will invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in education, job training, water and energy preservation, and other local priorities in communities with its data centers. The pledge comes amid growing public and political opposition over data centers’ effects on electricity prices, water supplies and the environment.
Amazon plans to invest more than $1 billion over five years in communities where it operates data centers, funding education, workforce training, water and energy preservation, and other local initiatives. Matt Garman, chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing business, said the company has already spent more than $1 billion on similar efforts during the past three years.
Garman also said Amazon will stop using nondisclosure agreements with government agencies involved in its projects and will hold community open houses. He criticized proposed data-center moratoriums and what he characterized as misinformation about environmental and energy impacts, as polling shows broad support for limiting new facilities and significant concern over electricity prices and water use. The article includes Gilroy, California, as the location of an Amazon data center under construction.