Data centers are grabbing lots of headlines. And for good reason. The necessary cooling sucks up lots of water. The energy demands are hefty. The power necessary to sustain them requires large amounts of natural gas — which is a resource that is fracked, methane-rich, and water guzzling too.
Regulated utilities across the nation are getting flooded with proposals for data centers.
In Nevada, regulators are estimating that there are proposals for nearly 6000 megawatts (enough energy to power millions of homes). In Colorado, proposals for data centers are totaling nearly 9,000 megawatts that are “opportunities,” according to Xcel Energy. One proposal in Utah would expand the state’s electricity needs by 25 percent, demanding 1000 megawatts for operation.
We like to view this nexus with a water-focused approach and consider some of the peer-reviewed literature on the matter.
The Journal of Environmental Research Letters found that the data center industry “directly or indirectly draws water from 90% of U.S. watersheds.” A significant chunk of that water, according to the authors, comes from strained watersheds. It is one of the top ten water-consuming industries in the nation.
There are three ways to think about data center water use, according to the study:
(1) Water consumed directly by the data center for cooling and other purposes.
(2) Water consumed indirectly through electricity generation.
(3) Water consumed indirectly via the water embedded with the electricity consumption of water and wastewater utilities servicing the data center.
In Southern Nevada, the SNWA saw this coming and vowed to deny serving facilities that rely on water-sucking evaporative cooling, which has long been a staple of data center operations because it is less energy intensive than other options and, of course, it keeps the servers from melting.
The issue is now coming to the forefront in Reno, with more than 9 proposals coming down the pike. The City Council took action to define new regulations — with a few officials even considering a moratorium after passing one proposal in a contentious process.
Some of the proposals from the company Tract in Northern Nevada are slated to go near Elon Musk’s battery factory at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). Groundwater resources and the Truckee River are tapped out. No new appropriations can be made near TRIC. But, per a review of records, the company says that it acquired water rights, likely from holdings within TRIC. But that pool of reserves won’t last if the trend continues in Northwestern Nevada and elsewhere in the arid regions.
And that is why we fear the revival of efforts to export water for this pervasive technological force. We have to ask ourselves, if we have to ship in groundwater from far away places, are data centers really a sustainable industry?
I write this, of course, while connected to various clouds. And the ones outside of my window, unfortunately, haven’t been giving us much snowpack in the arid regions this winter. We are tracking filings as best we can across various landscapes. Let us know what you know about this emerging phenomenon.