Microsoft Corporation has announced a new initiative to address the environmental and economic impacts of its data centers. On January 13, the company stated it would pay utility rates high enough to cover its power costs and limit the effect on the general population. It also plans to work with local utilities to expand supply where needed for its data center operations.
In a separate commitment, Microsoft pledged to replenish more water than is consumed by its data centers. The company said it will begin publishing detailed information on water use in each U.S. data center region, along with progress reports on its replenishment efforts.
Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, commented on the initiative. "Especially when tech companies are so profitable, it's both unfair and politically unrealistic for our industry to ask the public to shoulder added electricity costs for AI," Smith said in a statement.
Reuters reported on January 13 that Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment regarding the financial details of this new plan.
Separately, on January 14, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation and set a price target of $650.