With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, the global demand for data centers continues to rise, directly leading to a significant increase in water consumption. The equipment within data centers requires cooling, and water is one of the primary methods for this purpose. According to a report by the Financial Times, Virginia, USA, hosts a multitude of data centers, and the state's water usage for data centers nearly doubled from 2019 to 2023, increasing from 1.13 billion gallons to 1.85 billion gallons.
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Many people express concerns about this trend, considering it unsustainable. Microsoft, as a significant data center operator, revealed that 42% of its water usage in 2023 came from "water-stressed" regions. Google, on the other hand, pointed out that 15% of its freshwater intake comes from "extremely water-scarce" areas. It is evident that the contradiction between the water demand of data centers and environmental pressures is becoming more pronounced.
So, why can't data centers implement closed-loop water recycling systems? In fact, many data centers are indeed trying this approach, but most of the water used is for humidity control, which means it evaporates. Especially in dry areas, if the air is not sufficiently humid, it can become a strong conductor of static electricity, which is not good news for computer equipment.
In recent years, with the popularization of artificial intelligence, the number of data centers has been increasing, leading to a more prominent issue of water resource consumption. For tech companies, finding a balance between meeting operational needs and protecting the environment is an urgent challenge to address.
Key points:
💧 Water usage in data centers has surged, with Virginia's water consumption nearly doubling in four years.
🌍 Large tech companies face water scarcity issues, with Microsoft and Google sourcing most of their water from water-stressed regions.
♻️ Limitations in water recycling in data centers are mainly due to water being used for humidity and evaporating.