Jan 20 (Reuters) - OpenAI unveiled a Stargate Community plan on Tuesday, aimed at “paying its way on energy” and ensuring that its operations do not raise electricity costs for local communities.
Stargate is a $500 billion, multi-year initiative to build AI data centers for training and inference, backed by major investors including Oracle (ORCL.N) . U.S. President Donald Trump supported the initiative when it was first announced in January 2025.
As energy access becomes a key constraint on AI growth, several tech companies are investing directly in power infrastructure to support larger and more numerous data centers.
Each Stargate site will now have its own locally tailored community plan, “driven by community input and local concerns,” OpenAI said.
“Depending on the site, this can range from bringing new dedicated power and storage that the project fully funds, to adding and paying for new energy generation and transmission resources.”
OpenAI’s announcement follows a similar initiative unveiled by Microsoft (MSFT.O) last week, aimed at reducing water usage at its U.S. data centers and minimizing any impact on local communities from potential surge in electricity prices.
Microsoft has said it will pay utility rates sufficient to cover its power expenses and collaborate with local utilities to expand supply as needed for its data centers.

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OpenAI has launched the Stargate Community plan, a $500 billion initiative to manage energy costs for its AI data centers, ensuring operations do not increase local electricity prices. Each site will have a tailored community plan based on local input, potentially including new power generation and storage. This announcement follows a similar initiative by Microsoft to reduce water usage and collaborate with local utilities on energy supply for its data centers.

- OpenAI announced its Stargate Community plan, a $500 billion initiative to establish AI data centers while managing local electricity costs.  
- The initiative, supported by major investors like Oracle and U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to enhance energy access, crucial for AI growth.  
- Each Stargate site will implement community-driven plans, addressing local energy needs, paralleling Microsoft's efforts to reduce water usage and collaborate on utility expansions.

OpenAI unveils plan to keep data-center energy costs in check