Data Centres Consume Massive Amounts of Fresh Water Amid AI Boom

Industry
โดย Money & Banking·US·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Bloomberg reports that the growth of artificial intelligence has sparked the biggest wave of data centre investment in decades, with technology companies worldwide pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into expanding infrastructure. But behind the scenes is the enormous consumption of fresh water to cool servers running around the clock. Data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shows that in 2023, data centres in the United States used about 17.4 billion gallons of water directly, a figure that could rise to 74 billion gallons per year by 2028. Meanwhile, indirect water use through electricity generation reached 211 billion gallons, roughly 12 times direct consumption. Communities in many areas are growing concerned and pushing back against projects, resulting in at least 46 data centre projects in the US being delayed or cancelled between January 2024 and May 2026. Several states have enacted new laws: Utah now requires disclosure of water use estimates, New York has imposed a temporary moratorium on approvals, and Nevada has banned evaporative cooling systems in new buildings. Major operators have announced plans to reduce their impact: Amazon aims to return more water to nature than it uses by 2030, and Nvidia has launched new AI servers that support higher-temperature cooling water.

Impact on stocks 2

Artificial Intelligence▲ · 2 stocks
NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA
▲ PositiveTechnologyrelevance

Nvidia's new AI servers support higher-temperature cooling water, addressing water concerns and potentially boosting adoption.

Amazon.com Inc
AMZN
± MixedRegulationrelevance

Data centre water use faces regulatory scrutiny and community pushback, but Amazon's water-positive pledge may mitigate impact.

Theme Impact 4

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