Amazon to invest $1 billion over five years in US data center communities
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 : Amazon's cloud computing division said on Friday it would invest more than $1 billion over the next five years in US communities where it has data centers and vowed to tackle their impacts on electricity and water usage.
Data centers, which provide the computing power to train and run AI models, have drawn opposition in communities nationwide over concerns about electricity demand, utility costs and other local impacts. The backlash poses a political challenge for Republicans heading into the US midterm elections on November 3.
Amazon said it had invested $276 billion in data centers between 2011 and 2025 and had large projects or expansions in the works in many states including Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia and Mississippi.
Amazon Web Services said the community investment plans announced on Friday would include spending on education, job training, energy affordability, water and energy preservation and other local priorities in parts of the US where it has data centers.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
The company in a lengthy statement sought to rebut criticism of data centers tied to environmental, energy and economic impacts and noted there were more than 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country.
"There is urgency to this data center buildout because we aren’t the only country that sees the benefits of AI for the economy and national security, and the countries that lead in AI will shape it and get the most from it," AWS CEO Matt Garman said.
AWS also committed to being water positive across its data centers by 2030 by returning more water to communities than it uses and said it was 75 per cent of the way toward its goal.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app