Amazon will invest $12 billion to build an AI data center in Louisiana.

IT Home, February 24th: Amazon announced on Monday that it plans to invest $12 billion (IT Home note: approximately 82.935 billion RMB at current exchange rates) to build a new data center campus in Louisiana and develop related infrastructure to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

These campuses will be located in Caddo Parish and Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Amazon stated that these data centers are expected to create 540 full-time jobs and indirectly generate about 1,700 supporting positions, including electricians, HVAC technicians, and security personnel.

Earlier this month, Amazon announced that its capital expenditure for the year is expected to reach $200 billion, surpassing any other large-scale cloud service provider. By 2026, the combined capital expenditure of these leading companies is projected to approach $700 billion.

Wall Street remains skeptical of Amazon’s capital expenditure plans. After releasing its earnings report on February 5th, the stock price declined for nine consecutive days, with a market value loss exceeding $450 billion.

Most of Amazon’s investments are expected to be directed toward AI-related projects, including data centers, chips, and network equipment.

Tech companies are racing to expand their data center footprints to meet the demands of various enterprises running AI models. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all invested hundreds of billions of dollars in building large-scale data centers. Meta has also chosen Louisiana for its large “Hiberon” data center project, a joint venture with Blue Owl Capital valued at $27 billion.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers by tech companies has also sparked some opposition within local communities where the data centers are located. Residents argue that these facilities consume大量 electricity and water resources and negatively impact quality of life.

Last year, Microsoft abandoned plans for a data center site in a rural area of Wisconsin due to concerns over environmental and financial issues raised by local residents.

Amazon stated that it has partnered with the local utility company, Southwest Power Company, to “ensure that we bear all costs related to the data center campus,” including the construction and upgrade of energy infrastructure. The company also plans to use natural cooling techniques when possible to reduce power consumption.

Amazon added that the Louisiana data centers will only use surplus water from the surrounding area, “not putting pressure on local water supplies.” The company also plans to invest up to $400 million in public water infrastructure to support the project.

Amazon said it will collaborate with data center developer Stack Infrastructure to advance the project.