Quincy, a small farming town of around 8,100 people in central Washington, has become a key example in Microsoft's efforts to counter growing public unease about data centres. The company has been building facilities there for roughly two decades, attracted by cheap land, a cool climate and abundant hydropower, and it now points to Quincy as evidence that such developments can genuinely benefit host communities, at a time when other areas are raising concerns about electricity prices, water consumption and limited job creation.

Local tax revenue linked to the data centres has helped fund a new high school, hospital and aquatic centre, with an indoor sports complex also planned, though individual facilities typically employ only around 50 people or fewer. Microsoft says it will encourage utilities nationally to set rates covering data-centre energy costs without raising bills for residents, and plans to use closed-loop cooling systems like the one already operating in Quincy, a $31 million water-reuse scheme that reportedly saves about 138 million gallons of water annually. Not everyone is convinced, however, with former mayor Patty Martin cautioning that the town must plan for long-term water and electricity pressures from population growth, electric vehicles and shifting snowpack patterns.