Microsoft has unveiled a new initiative to reduce water usage at its US data centres and ensure consumers are not burdened by higher power costs driven by AI infrastructure expansion.
| Photo Credit:
KYLIE COOPER/Reuters
Microsoft on Tuesday
unveiled an initiative to curb water usage at its U.S. data
centers and limit the impact on the general population from any
potential surge in power prices.
Political leaders across the U.S. are urging a rapid
expansion of data-center capacity and new power production to
keep the country competitive in AI. However, local communities
are voicing concerns over how the power-hungry facilities will
impact their utility bills and use land, water and other natural
resources in the region.
Microsoft said it will pay utility rates high enough to
cover its power costs and work with local utilities to expand
supply when needed for its data centers.
It also pledged to replenish more water than its data
centers consume, saying it would start publishing water-use
information for each data center region in the U.S., along with
its progress on replenishment.
Cost Burden
“Especially when tech companies are so profitable, it’s both
unfair and politically unrealistic for our industry to ask the
public to shoulder added electricity costs for AI,” Microsoft
Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said in a statement.
The company did not respond to a request seeking financial
details of its initiative.
Ahead of the announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump said
on Monday the tech giant would make “major changes” in its AI
infrastructure plans to curb data center power costs for
Americans.
“Data centers are key to (the U.S. AI boom) … but the big
technology companies who build them must ‘pay their own way.’
… Congratulations to Microsoft. More to come soon,” Trump said
in a social media post.
Election Backdrop
Ahead of the midterm elections this year, Trump is under
pressure to address growing cost-of-living concerns.
Microsoft had pulled its plans for a new data center in
Wisconsin after opposition from the local community, CNBC
reported in November.
The company said on Tuesday that as part of its investment
in Wisconsin, it is supporting a new rate structure that would
prevent data center power costs from being passed on to
consumers.
Microsoft will also train local residents to fill
construction and maintenance jobs at its data centers, as well
as provide AI literacy training to communities.
Published on January 13, 2026
