# Amazon commits more than $1 billion to data center communities

_Published Friday, October 2, 2026 at 5:40 PM EDT · Infrastructure, Products · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![Amazon commits more than $1 billion to data center communities — Primary](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2292181016.jpg)

Amazon committed Friday to donating more than $1 billion over five years to communities neighboring its data centers, Ars Technica reported. AWS chief executive Matt Garman said communities would choose priorities including education, job training, energy affordability and water preservation.

Amazon also promised that its data centers would not increase power bills or deplete local water supplies. Environmental group Stand.Earth criticized the commitments, pointing to Amazon's backing of a power plant that experts expect to become the largest source of US climate pollution.

## Sources

- [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/amazons-1b-plan-to-combat-data-center-backlash-draws-more-backlash/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/RxF21ikPlcX0SB9d7vAP6d
Published: 2026-10-02T21:40:46.050Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-02T20:30:27.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-02T23:42:33.798Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)