In a CBS News interview, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said communities should have been consulted well before data centers were built and apologized for not speaking with them sooner. He outlined ways facilities could benefit towns as he addressed public backlash.
Asked about what CBS reporter Jo Ling Kent described as bipartisan backlash from people opposing data centers in their backyards, Huang recalled growing up in Oneida, Kentucky, a town of 600. He said he too would be alarmed if a data center suddenly appeared beside its only grocery store.
Huang said data centers should contribute to local power grids to improve resilience and lower power costs, and support community centers, schools, baseball fields, roads and lower property taxes. He also cited cooling advances, including recirculating water, which he said are reducing the water and energy needed to operate the facilities.
