• by Laurie Sullivan , February 25, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union address Tuesday night that his administration has told major technology companies they must build their own power plants for data centers.

The strategy aims to keep consumer energy bills from rising as companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta and others build out data centers to power artificial intelligence and cloud features for advertising and other services.

"Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new rate payer protection pledge,” Trump said. “You know what that is? We're telling the major tech companies they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs.”

The announcement comes as opposition to energy-hungry data-center projects continues to grow.

Data-center construction jumped from $8.5 billion in 2019 to $31 billion in 2024. When final numbers are released, the Kaplan Group, a commercial collection agency, projects companies will have spent $39 billion in 2025.

Global data centers are projected to consume between 650 and 1,050 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually by the end of 2026, according to a 2026 report.

Delivering 100 million ad impressions typically generates between 50 and 200 tonnes of CO2e, depending on the mix of formats — video vs. display, according to the most recent data from Carbone Intelligence.

A search on Google AI Mode estimates for a typical midsized campaign, a brand is looking at a total commitment of roughly $466,500 to $2.1 million to deliver about 100 million impressions and manage the resulting carbon footprint.

The financial and environmental "taxes" on digital advertising in 2026 could drive up costs for consumers through direct price inflation, utility rate hikes, and a sustainability premiums, according to AI Mode.

For Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Meta and others, this means building their own power plants — which many are already doing — rather than drawing energy from public power grids. The idea is that their needs will not burden those of local communities.

The voluntary “pay your own way” agreements are not a formal law, but Microsoft and Anthropic have already issued these pledges to mitigate local utility bill spikes. Microsoft’s plan, announced in January, focuses on paying full utility rates and rejecting tax breaks.

Anthropic’s commitment announced this month, as reported by Politico, emphasized investing in grid upgrades and demand systems.

Microsoft’s projects range from Three Mile Island — expected to reopen in 2028 — to a nuclear facility in Kemmerer, Wyoming, for a natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor, among many others.

Anthropic committed on February 11 to bringing new power generation online rather than just buying existing capacity from the grid, as well as partnerships.