Tech companies’ main selling point on the construction of data centers has been job creation to build them and high-paying positions to help operate them, though there are questions about how long

Despite many proposals, there is little consensus among governors, lawmakers and tech executives about exactly how much the companies behind data centers should pay for electricity.

The tech giant's new "community first" initiative includes pledges to pay full power costs, reject local tax breaks, and replenish more water than it uses — a response to growing backlash against AI infrastructure expansion.

In a splashy event just outside Washington D.C., Microsoft vice chair Brad Smith laid out five big promises to address flagging enthusiasm about new data centers in communities. This included a commitment to pay more for electricity to ensure that data centers don’t drive up consumer electricity costs and a promise to create jobs for local residents.

A new data center is set to be coming to Little Rock. The new center, named AVAIO Digital Leo, will be built in multiple phases using a $6 billion investment.

The Trump administration and several states laid out a plan intended to compel technology companies to effectively fund the construction of new power plants as a way to tame surging consumer utility bills while aiding the development of data centers.

Trump and a group of governors from northeastern states are calling on PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest power grid operator, to hold a new power auction. The goal is to allow major tech companies to foot the bill for new power plants.