Microsoft (MSFT) has outlined a plan to reduce electricity costs in areas close to its AI data center by spending more to absorb those costs itself. President Brad Smith unveiled the effort in a speech in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, laying out how the company will work to ensure it doesn’t negatively affect towns where data centers are constructed. The sudden surge in these centers has sparked waves of concern, especially amongst communities close to them.

Backlash against data centers has been growing in parts of the country over concerns about the massive amounts of electricity and water needed to power and keep cool the thousands of chips running inside the gargantuan buildings. To tackle the problem, Smith laid out five key areas he says Microsoft will work to deal with community fears: electricity, water, jobs, taxes, and skills.

“We are here today for one reason above all else, because we are at a moment in time when we need to listen, and we need to address these concerns head-on,” Smith said. “In short, as a sector, as an industry, as a country, and community by community, we need to raise the bar. And here at Microsoft, we’re focused first and foremost on raising it in ourselves to address the issues that people care about.”

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Furthermore, Microsoft has already proposed a new facility on a 237-acre site in Lowell Township, Michigan. The move is a continuation of the Windows developers’ efforts to continue investing in the AI bubble. Microsoft has already committed to spending more than $80B in fiscal 2026 on AI-related infrastructure, underscoring how central data center capacity has become to the company’s growth strategy. While the company’s work to limit the costs these data centers place on local communities is a positive, this would likely cut into the company’s profits, which was a bearish flag for MSFT investors. As a result, MSFT stock has taken a hit in the last 24 hours.

At press time, Microsoft (MSFT) is trading in the middle of its 52-week range and below its 200-day simple moving average.