Amazon Announces Built Together Program for Data Center Communities

Amazon on October 2, 2026 announced Built Together, a community investment framework that will add more than $1 billion over five years to the company’s existing spending in US communities where it builds and operates data centers. The commitment came in an About Amazon post written by Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, which also introduced a codified Amazon Data Center Commitment covering how the company builds and operates those facilities.

Garman opened by likening the AI-driven data center buildout to the Interstate highway system begun in 1956, and wrote that the buildout is urgent because the countries that lead in AI will shape it. He stated that more than 100 data center moratoriums are being considered across the country.

Amazon said it contributed more than $1 billion over the past three years to US communities where it has a meaningful data center presence. Built Together is organized around three pillars the company said communities identified as most important: education and workforce pathways, energy affordability and water solutions, and flexible funding for local priorities.

Education and Workforce Training

Under the education pillar, Amazon said residents of data center communities can pursue a certificate or associate’s degree in fields including electrical trades, HVAC, fiber optics, IT, healthcare, education, public safety, and advanced manufacturing at zero out-of-pocket cost, with the company covering remaining costs after financial aid. It estimates the effort will connect more than 300,000 students to free degree access over the next five years, and said agreements with local community colleges are being established, with launch planned in the coming months.

Amazon is also expanding its Modular Training Centers, physical facilities on or near data center sites that run free certification programs of four to 16 weeks with specialized equipment, simulated data center environments, and outside-plant training yards. Each center trains approximately 2,000 to 4,000 learners per year. Amazon said it currently operates three of the centers, has six more under development, and plans to build 16 more; the Built Together program page describes a planned network of 25 purpose-built facilities. By the end of 2028, the company plans to prepare up to 100,000 workers annually for skilled jobs, fully funded by Amazon.

Energy, Water, and Community-Directed Funding

In partnership with nonprofits, local utilities, and state energy offices, Amazon said it will make grants available for energy efficiency upgrades to K–12 schools, community buildings, and single- and multifamily homes in counties where it has data centers, covering heat pumps, HVAC systems, insulation, water heaters, batteries, and solar installations. The five-year program targets more than 300 schools and community buildings and over 30,000 homes. Amazon estimates the upgrades will cut monthly energy bills by 20 to 40 percent and save approximately $700 per household annually; the program page notes that actual savings may vary by household and that bills can still change with rates, weather, and usage.

Amazon said it has also contracted more than 65 water replenishment projects expected to return more than 8 billion gallons of water annually to local communities, a volume it describes as more than double what its data centers used in 2025.

The third pillar routes millions of dollars per year in each data center community through local nonprofits, foundations, and community organizations. Amazon said allocation decisions rest with the communities themselves, with transparent reporting on outcomes, and eligible uses include roads, parks and athletic facilities, fire department equipment, affordable housing, food security, school enhancements, disaster preparedness, and community events. The program’s FAQ states that Built Together is limited to communities where Amazon operates data centers and that enrollment and application processes are being established with local partners.

The Amazon Data Center Commitment

The Amazon Data Center Commitment codifies the company’s practices under four tenets: Protecting and Enhancing Communities, Providing Jobs and Economic Benefit, Engaging Communities, and Building and Operating Responsibly. Its pledges include working with local utilities, regulators, and grid operators so that the energy prices Amazon pays cover both the energy its data centers use and required infrastructure improvements. Amazon said it no longer uses nondisclosure agreements with the government agencies it works with on projects, hosts open houses in the communities where it operates, and has signed the U.S. Rate Payer Protection Pledge.

Amazon reported a 2025 global power usage effectiveness of 1.14, which it described as better than the industry average of 1.25 and on-premises enterprise data centers at 1.63. The company committed to being water positive across its data centers by 2030, said it was 75 percent of the way toward that goal as of 2025, and described its data centers as seven times more water-efficient than the industry average. Backup generators at new sites will meet the EPA’s Tier 4 emissions standards or equivalent regional standards, and Amazon said it will publish its energy use, energy efficiency, water use, water efficiency, and percentage of energy from carbon-free resources annually.

Amazon’s Figures on Water, Energy, and Local Economics

Garman’s post also responds directly to criticism of data centers. It states that direct data center water consumption equals about 0.5 percent of total US direct industrial water use, that a typical data center uses about 170,000 gallons per day on average, and that Amazon’s average data center uses less than 13,000 gallons per day, the equivalent of 42 US households. On electricity costs, the post attributes rising rates primarily to an aging grid, stating that about 70 percent of power lines were built more than 25 years ago, and says backup diesel generators sit idle 99.9 percent of the time, running roughly 10 hours per year, mostly for required maintenance testing.

On local economics, Amazon said its estimated tax payments in St. Joseph County, Indiana exceed $3 billion, compared with $1.2 million the prior land use would have paid over the same term, and that its Montgomery County, Missouri project will pay more than $1.8 billion in taxes over 25 years, versus about $200,000 from prior use. The post cites a 2026 report by Mangum Economics for the Northern Virginia Technology Council estimating that the average homeowner in Loudoun County, Virginia would pay $5,800 more in annual property taxes without data center revenue.

Amazon said more than 2,300 people are currently employed in construction at two data center sites in Madison County, Mississippi, with more than 1,700 operational jobs planned, and that more than 1,500 people are employed in construction in Newton County, Georgia, with 400 operational jobs planned. The company said more than 10,000 learners and educators are participating in its education programs across 15 data center regions, and that it will share further details on participation in Built Together as the program expands.