Senate investigation challenges the economics of AI data centers
Three Democratic senators examined jobs, tax breaks, secrecy and power costs at seven large data center developers, TIME reports.
Questions about local benefits
TIME reported on October 8 that a yearlong investigation led by Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Richard Blumenthal challenged the case major technology companies make for new AI data centers. Their staff requested information from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, CoreWeave, Digital Realty and Equinix. According to TIME’s account of the investigation, several companies did not provide comprehensive permanent-job figures. Investigators also identified sales-tax exemptions for computer equipment as a significant incentive and said nondisclosure agreements can limit public scrutiny of deals involving local governments and utilities. These are findings attributed to the senators’ inquiry, not an independent audit of every project.
Who pays for power expansion
TIME said none of the seven companies agreed to a standard requiring them to cover all new power infrastructure that would not be needed without their facilities. The companies generally distinguished direct service costs from wider grid investments that may also benefit other customers. The report describes Microsoft and Amazon limiting some requests for local-government nondisclosure agreements, while Google and Meta did not make the same commitment. The investigation could inform future debate over ratepayer protections and transparency, but it has not enacted a new federal cost-sharing rule.