Amazon Drops NDAs for Government Data Center Projects in New Commitment

Amazon announced a new Data Center Commitment program in a Friday blog post, saying it will no longer require nondisclosure agreements with government agencies involved in its data center projects.

The company also pledged to hold community open houses and to disclose project information as early as possible. Under the program, Amazon said it will publish annual figures for energy consumption and efficiency, water consumption and efficiency, and the share of electricity drawn from carbon-free sources. New sites will use backup generators that meet EPA Tier 4 emissions standards, according to the announcement.

Alongside the commitment, Amazon outlined the Built Together initiative, which it said will invest more than $1 billion over five years in communities hosting its facilities. The company said Built Together aims to give more than 300,000 students access to free community-college education over five years, and calls for energy-efficiency upgrades at more than 300 schools and community buildings and 30,000 homes.

Earlier disclosures

The announcement follows earlier company figures. Amazon reported a global power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.14 for 2025, compared with an industry average of 1.25, and said it had reached 75% of its goal to become water-positive by 2030. It also said an average U.S. data center consumes around 170,000 gallons of water per day, while an average Amazon facility uses less than 13,000 gallons.

According to tomshardware.com, Amazon said more than 65 contracted water projects are expected to return over 8 billion gallons annually and that it currently operates three Modular Training Centers, with six more under development.