Trump calls for self-generation and community payments
US President Donald Trump said AI data centers have been required to generate the electricity they need themselves. Trump also urged them to pay a form of dividend to the communities where they are located.
The emphasis on community compensation comes as resident opposition over concerns about rising electricity bills and water shortages grows ahead of the November midterm elections.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CNBC on October 21, local time, Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social that day, “I have required new large data centers to generate their own electricity.”
Trump claimed that supplying or selling surplus electricity to local communities or the grid could prevent electricity bills from rising and might even lower them.
In a separate post, Trump stressed, “For data centers to become more popular, they should pay a ‘dividend’ to local communities or residents.”
Trump said, “I have seen data centers that were extremely unpopular in certain areas become very popular facilities once a financial agreement was reached,” and urged, “Make agreements and build data centers.”
Local opposition over electricity and water use
Trump's remarks came amid spreading disputes over data center construction across the United States.
AI data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity and cooling water. Residents are particularly concerned that rapidly increasing power demand could lead to higher household electricity bills.
In a Gallup poll in March, 71% of US respondents opposed building a data center in their local area. That was higher than the 53% who opposed construction of a nuclear power plant.
Some state and local governments are pursuing suspensions of new data center approvals or reductions in tax incentives.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott emphasized support for the AI industry when announcing Google's $40 billion investment plan in November 2025. More recently, however, Abbott said approvals for approximately 1,800 new data centers had been suspended because of electricity and water use issues.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also signed an executive order applying strict standards to new data centers on matters including water use and electricity procurement.
A change in Trump's position is also apparent. In August, Trump warned that communities opposing data center construction could fall behind economically, but ahead of the midterm elections, the emphasis is on easing residents' burdens.
Industry compensation and implementation questions
The data center industry is also offering compensation to ease resident opposition. Amazon and Meta recently said they would each invest at least $1 billion in communities hosting their data centers.
Mark Boroditsky, chief revenue officer (CRO) of AI infrastructure company Nebius, told CNBC that Trump's dividend proposal was “an idea worth considering,” explaining that compensation could take the form of education, jobs and local economic development.
However, it remains unclear how a requirement for data centers to generate their own electricity would actually be implemented. Building generating facilities requires enormous expenditure and complex permitting procedures, which could burden developers with relatively limited financial resources.
Financial market concerns are also growing over the sharp rise in data center construction costs. As companies become more dependent on borrowing, HSBC Chief Executive Georges Elhedery emphasized that data center financing should be approached selectively, taking account of lease quality and contract prices.
Original Korean article: News1
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
