Data Centers and Water Consumption

Schwartzreport · 4 months ago · 82 views

Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo,  Project Manager  -  Environmental and Energy Study InstituteStephan: This is a factor in the expansion of AI that is getting virtually no coverage in corporate media, which benefits from it. It is yet another reason wellbeing in the United States is declining. Profit and power are the only things that matter in America. As this article describes if a data center is built near where you live, you may soon have a freshwater crisis. Water-cooled high computing systems in a data center.Credit: ECMWF Data Center. Highlights: Data center developers are increasingly tapping into freshwater resources to quench the thirst of data centers, which is putting nearby communities at risk. Large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons per day, equivalent to the water use of a town populated by 10,000 to 50,000 people. With larger and new AI-focused data centers, water consumption is increasing alongside energy usage and carbon emissions. Novel technologies like direct-to-chip cooling and immersion cooling can reduce water and energy usage by data centers Data centers have a thirst for water, and their rapid expansion threatens freshwater supplies. Only 3% of Earth’s water is freshwater, and only 0.5% of all water is accessible and safe for human consumption. Freshwater is critical for survival. On average, a human being can live without water for only three days. Increasing drought and water shortages are reducing water availability. Meanwhile, data center developers are increasingly tapping into surface and underground aquifers to cool their facilities. Data center water usage closely [...]Read the Full Article »