Drought-stricken communities push back against data centers
According to the Synergy Research Group, there were about 600 "hyperscale" data centers, massive operations designed and operated by a single company that then rents access to cloud services, globally by the end of 2020. That's double the number there were in 2015. Almost 40 percent of them are in the United States, and Amazon, Google and Microsoft account for more than half of the total.
"The typical data center uses about 3-5 million gallons of water per day -- the same amount of water as a city of 30,000-50,000 people," said Venkatesh Uddameri, professor and director of the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech University.
Although these data centers have become much more energy and water efficient over the last decade, and don't use as much water as other industries such as agriculture, this level of water use can still create potential competition with local communities over the water supply in areas where water is scarce, he added.
System used to cool servers inside the Apple Data Center in Mesa, Ariz.
But some tech companies like Google say they are trying to address their water use.
"As part of our water stewardship efforts, we're working to utilize water more efficiently and exploring ways to incorporate circularity," said Gary Demasi, senior director of energy and location operations at Google. "We have a site-specific approach where we work within the constraints of the local hydrological environment to find the best solutions."
He added that "many arid environments provide an abundant supply of carbon-free solar and wind energy," which explains why data centers are drawn to those areas.
Sergio Loureiro, vice president of core operations for Microsoft, said that the company has pledged to be "water positive" by 2030, which means it plans to replenish more water than it consumes globally. This includes reducing the company's water use and investing in community replenishment and conservation projects near where it builds facilities.
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
See the whole story here: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/drought-stricken-communities-push-back-against-data-centers-n1271344
