US President Donald Trump called on data centre companies to make their own electricity and pay back communities or individuals a 'dividend'.
"If companies want to make their Data Centers popular, pay the community, and/or individuals within the community, a “dividend.” I have watched the process closely, and Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck. MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!!" he said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said he has been watching data centres very closely and has arrived to a "very strong conclusion."
"New and large, in some cases gigantic, Data enters are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid, and therefore there is electric price increase. In fact, there could be a substantial decrease," he said.
Companies like Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are spending billions of dollars in a race to dominate artificial intelligence in US and data centre is the backbone of the growing economy.
At least 35 data center-related applications covering more than 24,000 acres of US federal land are pending or active across six Western states, Reuters reported citing an analysis by conservation group Center for Western Priorities.
The study reveals that US Bureau of Land Management records show at least 17 proposed data center campuses and 13 related infrastructure projects, including transmission lines, pipelines, telecommunications facilities and access roads across Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
Trump's administration has strongly backed data center expansion as a national priority, but the public is highly opposed to such projects, citing concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, wildlife impacts and public access to federal lands.
Earlier on September 30, the US Senate blocked legislation requiring state utility regulators to consider whether large electricity users, including data centers, should bear the incremental costs of power infrastructure built to serve them and thus ease the burden on households.
According to Reuters, Senators voted 57-43 to advance the Ratepayer Protection Act, with only four Democrats voting for it. The Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House of Representatives on September 16 in a 417-3 vote.