Trump proposes AI data centers share profits with communities and deliver surplus power
US President Trump posted on Truth Social on October 22, calling on data center builders and major AI cloud providers to pay revenue dividends to their host communities to address energy price increases, and warned that data centers must, in addition to generating their own power, deliver surplus electricity to local communities, either free of charge or for sale. The report noted that communities across the US are protesting AI data center projects over rising electricity prices, noise pollution, water shortages and other issues, and whether economic givebacks can defuse the resistance remains in question.
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Trump proposed that data centers share profits with communities and deliver surplus power, illustrating the concrete practices of community resistance and policy bargaining as US AI infrastructure is implemented.
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US AI Data Centers Struggle to Get Built? Trump Offers a "Surprise Move"
Phoenix Tech Download the app for exclusive early access October 22, 2026, 13:04:31 From Beijing
On October 22, Trump proposed that AI data center developers and cloud providers should pay revenue dividends to communities to address protest flashpoints such as rising electricity prices. He also demanded that surplus power be delivered to communities, arguing that economic agreements could win support for otherwise unwelcome data center projects. But the report noted that it remains doubtful whether economic givebacks can truly defuse community resistance.
Phoenix Tech News, October 22 — US President Trump posted on Truth Social, calling on data center developers and major AI cloud providers to pay revenue dividends to their host communities, in order to address energy price increases and even achieve lower electricity rates, making data centers more readily accepted by local communities.
Trump warned that data centers must not only generate their own power, as he previously proposed, but must also deliver surplus electricity to local communities, either free of charge or for sale. He said that some data center projects that were originally highly unpopular won strong local support after economic agreements were reached, and called on all parties to "make a deal and move forward with construction."
Reports noted that communities across the United States have been protesting AI data center projects, with the core reasons being problems such as rising electricity prices, noise pollution, water shortages, air pollution and deforestation caused by such facilities. The Trump administration had previously ordered such companies to generate their own power, and recently passed legislation requiring data centers to bear the cost of grid upgrades so that local residents' taxes do not have to cover them.
According to a previous Wall Street Journal report, in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, residents could receive $10,000 if they agree to the construction of a data center. Although this cash compensation is quite attractive, many local residents still oppose the construction of the data center.