Greenpeace report How Clean is Your Cloud? I saw mentioned in 3T magazine news is actually quite interesting reading. This year’s report provides a look at the energy choices some of the largest and fastest growing IT companies. The report analyzes the 14 IT companies and the electricity supply chain in more than 80 data center cases.
The report contains also lots of interesting background information on both IT and telecom energy consumption. I recommend checking it out. Here are some points picked from How Clean is Your Cloud? report:
Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo – these global brands and a host of other IT companies are rapidly and fundamentally transforming the way in which we work, communicate, watch movies or TV, listen to music, and share pictures through “the cloud.”
The growth and scale of investment in the cloud is truly mind-blowing, with estimates of a 50-fold increase in the amount of digital information by 2020 and nearly half a trillion in investment in the coming year, all to create and feed our desire for ubiquitous access to infinite information from our computers, phones and other mobile devices, instantly.
The engine that drives the cloud is the data center. Data centers are the factories of the 21st century information age, containing thousands of computers that store and manage our rapidly growing collection of data for consumption at a moment’s notice. Given the energy-intensive nature of maintaining the cloud, access to significant amounts of electricity is a key factor in decisions about where to build these data centers. Industry leaders estimate nearly $450bn US dollars is being spent annually on new data center space.
Since electricity plays a critical role in the cost structure of companies that use the cloud, there have been dramatic strides made in improving the energy efficiency design of the facilities and the thousands of computers that go inside. However, despite significant improvements in efficiency, the exponential growth in cloud computing far outstrips these energy savings.
How much energy is required to power the ever-expanding online world? What percentage of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is attributable to the IT sector? Answers to these questions are very difficult to obtain with any degree of precision, partially due to the sector’s explosive growth, a wide range of devices and energy sources, and rapidly changing technology and business models. The estimates of the IT sector’s carbon footprint performed to date have varied widely in their methodology and scope. One of the most recognized estimates of the IT sector’s footprint was conducted as part of the 2008 SMART 2020 study, which established that the sector is responsible for 2% of global GHG emissions.
The combined electricity demand of the internet/cloud (data centers and telecommunications network) globally in 2007 was approximately 623bn kWh (if the cloud were a country, it would have the fifth largest electricity demand in the world). Based on current projections, the demand for electricity will more than triple to 1,973bn kWh (an amount greater than combined total demand of France, Germany, Canada and Brazil).
The report indicates that, due to the economic downturn and continued energy efficiency and performance improvements, global energy demand from data centers from 2005-2010 increased by 56%. Estimates of data center electricity demand come in at 31GW globally, with an increase of 19% in 2012 alone. At the same time global electricity consumption is otherwise essentially flat due to the global recession is still a staggering rate of growth.
Given the scale of predicted growth, the source of electricity must be factored into a meaningful definition of “green IT”. Energy efficiency alone will, at best, slow the growth of the sector’s footprint. The replacement of dirty sources of electricity with clean renewable sources is still the crucial missing link in the sector’s sustainability efforts according to the report.
The global telecoms sector is also growing rapidly. Rapid growth in use of smart phones and broadband mobile connections mean mobile data traffic in 2011 was eight times the size of the entire internet in 2000. It is estimated that global mobile data traffic grew 133% in 2011, with 597 petabytes of data sent by mobiles every month. In 2011, it is estimated that 6 billion people or 86.7% of the entire global population have mobile telephone subscriptions. By the end of 2012, the number of mobile connected devices is expected to exceed the global population. Electronic devices and the rapidly growing cloud that supports our demand for greater online access are clearly a significant force in driving global energy demand.
What about telecoms in the developing and newly industrialized countries? The report has some details from India (by the way it is expected that India will pass China to become the world’s largest mobile market in terms of subscriptions in 2012). Much of the growth in the Indian telecom sector is from India’s rural and semi-urban areas. By 2012, India is likely to have 200 million rural telecom connections at a penetration rate of 25%. Out of the existing 400,000 mobile towers, over 70% exist in rural and semi-urban areas where either grid-connected electricity is not available or the electricity supply is irregular. As a result, mobile towers and, increasingly, grid-connected towers in these areas rely on diesel generators to power their network operations. The consumption of diesel by the telecoms sector currently stands at a staggering 3bn liters annually, second only to the railways in India.
What is the case on other developing and newly industrialized countries? I don’t actually know.
NOTE: Please note that that many figures given on the report are just estimates based on quite little actual data, so they might be somewhat off the actual figures. Given the source of the report I would quess that if the figures are off, they are most probably off to direction so that the environmental effect looks bigger than it actually is.
880 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data centers generate low-level, non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and electrical harmonic distortions via heavy-duty power equipment, transformers, and cooling systems. While direct on-site fields drop rapidly outside the building, high-capacity grid demands can alter local power quality (“dirty electricity”).
Sources of EMF & Electrical Distortion
Power Infrastructure: High-voltage transmission lines, local substations, and large transformers supplying the facility create Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) magnetic and electric fields.
Operational Gear: Switching power supplies, inverters, and cooling fans generate localized high-frequency voltage transients and electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Grid Harmonics: Massive computing loads (especially for AI) can distort AC power waveforms on surrounding municipal grids.
Safety and Community Impact
Local Proximity: Direct magnetic and radiofrequency radiation from the internal servers does not typically extend past the physical walls in concentrated amounts.
Health Research: Non-ionizing ELF fields are classified by agencies like the World Health Organization as possible human carcinogens based on long-term statistical links to power-line exposures, though localized data center contributions remain heavily debated.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E1Gwihdaz/
Amazon disclosed its data center water consumption for the first time, revealing that its global operations used 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025 — a volume equivalent to roughly 3,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The company maintains an expansive network of more than 900 facilities across over 50 countries, where massive water-based cooling systems prevent server overheating.
Despite significant expansion in its data center footprint to meet surging artificial intelligence demand, Amazon reduced direct water usage by 2% between 2024 and 2025 through more efficient cooling methods and a commitment to return water to communities. Facing mounting pressure from regulators and environmental advocates, the company is advancing its goal to become water positive by 2030.
The disclosure comes amid growing public scrutiny over data center environmental impact. In the U.S., Utah recently enacted groundbreaking legislation requiring certain new data centers to publicly report their annual water usage. Polling reveals shifting public sentiment: only one-third of Americans support new data center construction, and a mere 14% would accept having one built near their home — highlighting the challenge tech giants face in expanding infrastructure while maintaining community trust.
Images are generated by AI and for demonstration purposes only.
Source: Bhutani, A. (2026). Amazon Says Its Data Centers Used 2.5 Billion Gallons of Water in 2025. The Wall Street Journal.
#sustainability #waterconsumption #datacenters #AI #technology #environmentalimpact #transparency #fblifestyle
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://tech.supercarblondie.com/how-much-water-ai-data-centers-actually-use/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Disgusting. https://trib.al/lbSu77T
How Exhausting
AI Data Centers Are Causing Unfathomable Amounts of Air Pollution, and It Gets Worse With Each New One They Build
The tech industry is showing no signs of slowing down.
https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-data-centers-air-pollution-generators-worse?fbclid=IwdGRjcATmquhjbGNrBOaqxHBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEe938cUddFiI9LhYwalkeL8eVlPBllXG25fB5rXcRw2t8Yi7Cz3ZMLO8fliqU_aem_xhHAXU4U5mcdkeX8woHXnw
The amount of pollution spilling out of fossil-fuel generators is astounding. In the United States, this explosion of emissions is led by states like Texas, which on a global scale is comparable only to China in terms of new infrastructure powered by dead dinosaurs.
And as more data centers crop up throughout the US, that problem — of rising emissions linked to the accelerating demand for any kind of electricity — is only going to get worse.
According to reporting by the New York Times, the US currently has at least 82 data center-linked gas generators either in development or in the proposal stage. These are massive facilities which rival public electrical generators in size and power, only they’re not managed by the government, and the power they generate isn’t meant for citizens.
Instead, these are private generators, developed by big tech companies like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta or Elon Musk’s xAI. The electricity they’ll supply is intended only for data centers, which grow ever-hungrier for power as new iterations of AI chips and energy-hungry large language models enter into production.
Assuming all 82 of those plants come online as planned, the NYT notes they could spew enough emissions in one year to rival the output of half the passenger cars in the US.
That’s an astonishing amount of pollution, made possible thanks to industry-friendly state regulators in places like Texas and Ohio, where permits for behemoth fossil fuel fired generators are approved in as little as 18 days, often without public disclosure.
It’s possible that moratoriums on new data centers might slow the burn, but unless states begin the unlikely task of banning new gas generators for existing facilities, we can expect US fossil fuel emissions to continue to rise precipitously in the years to come.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1H2C7f1CPQ/
People in Virginia are breathing the exhaust of 10,500 diesel generators from data centers.
In Northern Virginia, home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, an analysis of 132 facilities revealed they are backed by more than 10,500 industrial diesel generators.
While designed for emergency backup during power outages, these massive generators require regular testing, releasing toxic exhaust including nitrogen oxides and fine soot. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Washington found that operating these generators for less than an hour a week creates a public health hazard equivalent to five large gas-fired power plants, worsening lung conditions and causing at least three premature deaths annually.
This is not just a Virginia problem, as the explosive growth of tech infrastructure has triggered a massive deployment of diesel generators in states like Oregon, Delaware, Utah, and Maryland. While the industry and local regulators maintain that these backup systems operate within safe environmental standards, nearby residents report seeing black smoke and falling soot that cause severe throat and nose irritation.
Compounding the risk, federal officials have authorized grid operators to call on these massive generator fleets during periods of high electricity demand. As more facilities are approved nationwide, communities are increasingly forced to choose between supporting the high-tech boom and protecting local public health.
source: Halper, E., & Crowe, K. (2026). As Data Centers Boom, Virginians Breathe the Exhaust of 10,000 Diesel Generators. The Washington Post.
———————— the generators suppose to be backup power, used only when is a power outage, which happen 2.4 hours per year in average.
Many things that people (2.6 million in Nova) use everyday produces far more pollution per year than 10,500×2.5 hr.
Consider the scale.
This region handles about 70% of the world’s daily internet traffic.
500+ data centers over about 1,300 square miles.
The generators are averaging roughly 10 hours of operation a year per engine.
10 hours pf operation out of 8760 per year.
0.012% operation time.
There are estimated over 12 million residential backup generators in the US and millions more commercially. All usually do a weekly test for about 10 to 15 minutes a week.
Most residential and many commercial iunits do not use diesel fuel. They will use natural gas or propane.
That graphic leaves out the part that changes the whole context. Those 10,500 diesel units are backup generators for data centers, not engines running around the clock. The article says they operate less than an hour a week on average, and Amazon says its Virginia fleet averages about 10 hours a year.
They’re there because data centers support critical infrastructure. Hospitals, emergency services, communications, government systems and national security functions increasingly depend on cloud and data center services staying online during outages.
And the “14,000 asthma episodes” number is a modeled estimate from a separate study still undergoing peer review, not 14,000 confirmed cases.
Diesel exhaust should obviously be controlled, but portraying these as 10,500 constantly smoking generators while ignoring why backup power exists is a pretty misleading picture.
Why is everything a fight because of social media. May i ask which data centre this is?
We cant stop technology to advance… human need to adapt, innovate and improve without compromising the environment. Earth’s surface is composed of 71% water and there should be a way to build these in the middle of the sea to cool it down without polluting it. We have unlimited free power from sun, wind and water but some human still prefer to use these fossil fuels because its a big business. There is always a solution but most human are only thinking of negative impact instead of finding ways to solve it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
About 15% of homes and 50% of businesses in the US have backup generators because green energy is making the grid so unreliable. Generators need a weekly or monthly 1 hour run cycle to make sure they are functioning and to lubricate the parts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data centers use grid power (and renewables) for daily operations, treating diesel strictly as a temporary emergency safety net. While building new coal plants is economically and environmentally off the table, the shift toward dedicated nuclear power (SMRs and co-location) is actively underway to solve the AI power bottleneck.
Tomi Engdahl says:
That point highlights a real and growing tension in grid management: grid instability and long connection queues are indeed forcing data centers to run generators far more often—and for longer stretches—than originally intended.
However, while generators are being pressed into service during grid stress, using standard diesel as a routine, long-term supplemental power source hits major legal, financial, and mechanical walls.
Tomi Engdahl says:
That point highlights a real and growing tension in grid management: grid instability and long connection queues are indeed forcing data centers to run generators far more often—and for longer stretches—than originally intended.
However, while generators are being pressed into service during grid stress, using standard diesel as a routine, long-term supplemental power source hits major legal, financial, and mechanical walls.
Peak Curtailment / Demand Response: In regions with strained grids (like Texas’s ERCOT or the mid-Atlantic’s PJM), grid operators increasingly require or incentivize large data centers to disconnect from the public grid during extreme heatwaves or winter freezes. To stay online, the facilities are forced to spin up their onsite backup generators for hours or days at a time.
”Bridging Power” While Waiting for the Grid: Because utility grid interconnection queues can take 3 to 7 years, some developers apply for temporary permits to run behind-the-meter generation as “bridging power” so they can open facilities on schedule before their utility hookup is ready.
Why Diesel Cannot Be the Long-Term “Supplemental” Solution
While the need for supplemental on-site power is real, standard diesel engines struggle to fill that role permanently:
Strict Environmental Air Quality Caps: Under U.S. EPA regulations and regional air quality boards, emergency diesel generators are capped (typically at 100 hours per year for maintenance and non-emergency testing) due to high emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), particulate matter, and carcinogenic soot. Running them routinely as standard supplemental power violates clean air permits unless expensive industrial scrubbers are retrofitted.
Astronomical Operating Costs: Burning diesel fuel continuously to generate hundreds of megawatts costs significantly more per kilowatt-hour than buying utility grid electricity or natural gas.
Engine Wear & Fuel Supply Chains: Emergency standby engines are designed for short-term uptime, not continuous 24/7 baseload duty cycles. Running thousands of gallons of diesel per hour requires a continuous stream of fuel tanker trucks, creating severe logistics risks during regional emergencies.
What Tech Companies Are Actually Using for Supplemental Power
To solve the grid delay problem without violating air permits, data center operators are turning to alternative behind-the-meter technologies rather than traditional diesel:
Natural Gas Microgrids & Turbines: Gas-fired combustion turbines or reciprocating engines emit far fewer particulates than diesel and can run continuously as primary or supplemental power while waiting for grid expansion.
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): Utility-scale lithium-ion battery banks absorb excess grid power when available and discharge during peak demand hours, bridging short gaps without burning any fuel.
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO): Many major operators (like Microsoft) are replacing petroleum diesel with drop-in renewable diesel (HVO) in their backup generators to lower net carbon emissions when forced off the grid.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“The Colorado River no longer reliably produces enough water to support all the uses and expectations built around it.”
Lake Mead, The Largest Reservoir In The US, Has Just Reached Its Lowest Level Ever Recorded
“The Colorado River no longer reliably produces enough water to support all the uses and expectations built around it.”
https://www.iflscience.com/lake-mead-the-largest-reservoir-in-the-us-has-just-reached-its-lowest-level-ever-recorded-84335?fbclid=IwdGRjcATnyPRjbGNrBOfI3XBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeN3EKj57rVBK1jQg0L5wVs2tN9a3PKCF2SjSU5MzBGtk6eAYAuDS-Sjnnbh0_aem_2LhaL9C0bygyyXRId1-y5Q
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, has been struggling for decades, but this summer it’s taken its heaviest blow yet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1EpUurYDjb/
Comment
About 15% of Colorado River water is Exported out of America to foreign countries as Cattle Feed.
Arizona is allocated about 2.8 million acre feet of Colorado River water per year.
Nevada is allocated 1.8% of water from the Colorado River, or about 300,000 acre feet per year.
The lowering water level is not the fault of Southern Nevada or Arizona.
46% of all Colorado water is used to grow Cattle feed, 35% is used by California to grow Cattle Feed, and 15% of Colorado River water is EXPORTED out of America as Cattle Feed.
Data Centers either use “Evaporative Cooling” or “Closed Loop” (recycling) water to cool their operations, but most Data Centers use “Evaporative Cooling” and “80%” is evaporated into the atmosphere leaving “20%” discharged as fresh water.
Clark County NV requires that only Closed Loop cooling be used, and Evaporative Cooling is banned in Clark County.
Closed Loop cooling must be demanded by the citizens of all Colorado River Compact states.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2026/08/10/the-physics-of-keeping-thermal-power-stations-cool/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ebu9iZ5cp/
Suomeen syntyy kovaa vauhtia uusia datakeskuksia – hankkeita on vireillä peräti 130 kappaletta.
Nyt onkin pysähdyttävä kysymään: onko datakeskusten yhteiskunnallinen hyöty riittävä, että sen varjolla voidaan uhrata arvokasta luontoa ja lisätä sähkönkulutusta merkittävästi?
Suomi on teknologiayhtiöille houkutteleva maa vakaan toimintaympäristön ja edullisen, pitkälti uusiutuvasti tuotetun sähkön ansiosta.
Vaikka energia on tuotettu uusiutuvasti, jättimäisillä datakeskuksilla on isoja haitallisia vaikutuksia ympäristöön. Ne voivat haukata satoja hehtaareja luontoa, aiheuttaa melua ja rehevöittää lähivesistöjä, jos niiden hukkalämpö johdetaan vesiin. Uusiutuva energiakin rakennetaan aina jonnekin – ja varsin usein esimerkiksi tuulivoimaloilla on haitallisia vaikutuksia luontoon.
Vaadimme, että Suomeen luodaan strategia, jotta datakeskukset voidaan ohjata sopiville paikoille ja niiden määrä rajata kestävälle tasolle. Strategian lähtökohtana pitäisi olla:
1. Datakeskusten rakentamista on ohjattava valtakunnallisesti paikkoihin, joissa ne aiheuttavat mahdollisimman vähän haittaa luonnolle.
2. Ei uusia verotukia datakeskuksille. Googlen kaltaiset jättiyritykset eivät tarvitse veroeurojamme.
3. Ympäristövaikutukset on arvioitava jokaisen hankkeen kohdalla.
4. #datakeskukset Datakeskusten tuottaman hukkalämmön hyödyntämisen on oltava ehto rakentamiselle. Hukkalämpöä ei saa ohjata vesistöihin, joissa se voi lisätä rehevöitymistä.
Monikansalliset kaivosyhtiöt ovat jo pitkään saaneet hyödyntää uusiutumattomia luonnonvarojamme ilman kunnollista korvausta. Esimerkiksi kaivosten ympäristöhaitat ovat jääneet suomalaisten maksettaviksi, kun taloudelliset hyödyt ovat valuneet muualle. Datakeskuksen kohdalla emme saa tehdä samoja virheitä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Väitteessä yhdistyy useita datakeskuskeskustelussa esiin nousevia huolia. Osa niistä perustuu todellisiin haasteisiin, kun taas osa sisältää väärinkäsityksiä tai vanhentunutta tietoa.
“Orpon hallitus myöntää yritystukia datakeskuksille”
Toiminnan tuki (sähkövero): Datakeskukset kuuluvat Suomessa teollisuuden alempaan sähköveroluokkaan (luokka II). Tämä ei ole suora rahallinen yritystuki tai subventio, vaan verokanta, joka on sama kaikelle teollisuudelle. Veroasteen poistamista tai korottamista on kuitenkin ehdotettu julkisessa keskustelussa.
Investointituet: Suoria valtion investointitukia datakeskushankkeille ei pääsääntöisesti myönnetä suuria määriä
Talousarvio/Hallitusohjelma: Keskustelua käydään siitä, pitäisikö sähköveroluokkaa muuttaa ja asettaa datakeskuksille tiukempia ehtoja (kuten velvoite hukkalämmön hyödyntämisestä)
“Eivät maksa veroja Suomeen”
Kiinteistövero, Sähkövero ja muut verot
Suomessa toimivat paikalliset tytäryhtiöt maksavat yhteisöveroa Suomeen
“Eivät työllistä kuin rakennusvaiheessa”
Pitää osittain paikkansa: Datakeskusten maapinta-alaan ja sähkönkulutukseen nähden niiden suora pysyvä henkilöstömäärä (noin 50–200 henkeä per suuri keskus) on pienempi kuin perinteisessä tehdasteollisuudessa.
“Tuhoavat veden ja kuluttavat sähköä”
Sähkönkulutus: Väite sähkönkulutuksesta on totta. Suuret datakeskukset vievät huomattavan osan sähköverkon kapasiteetista. Tämä vaatii kantaverkon vahvistamista ja lisää puhtaan sähköntuotannon (kuten tuuli- ja ydinvoiman) tarvetta.
Vedenkulutus: Suomessa suurin osa uudemmista datakeskuksista käyttää niin sanottua ilmajäähdytystä tai suljettua nestekiertoa, jossa vettä ei kulu valtavia määriä. Osassa keskuksista kuitenkin käytetään haihdutusjäähdytystä, mikä voi lisätä paikallista vedenkulutusta. Suomen vesivarat ovat yleisesti ottaen runsaita
“Ovat turvallisuusuhka”
Kaksiteräinen miekka
Politikoinnissa kyse on tasapainottelusta: toisaalta halutaan houkutella vihreän siirtymän investointeja ja kaukolämmön päästöttömiä lähteitä, toisaalta halutaan varmistaa, että maankäyttö, sähköverkon kestävyys ja verotulot ovat yhteiskunnan kannalta reiluja.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Denice Rodriguez at the moment data centers do not take anywhere near all of drinking water. Actially data centers take a very very small fraction (~0.2%) of fresh water in USA. What is really using and wasting the drinking water is everything else. There are some locations in USA where local data centers can use significant part of local drinling water supply.
Absolute volume is INCREASING: The sheer scale of new AI and cloud data center construction means total national water consumption by data centers is climbing quickly.
Facility efficiency is INCREASING (Water use per GPU is DECREASING): Modern data centers built today use significantly less water per megawatt of IT capacity than older facilities, thanks to dry-cooling mandates, closed-loop designs, and direct liquid cooling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
On nuclear power cooling
All should switch to systems that does not rely on water. Here something from Google AI:
**Advanced Non-Water Cooled Nuclear Reactors**
Most of today’s nuclear reactors are heavily dependent on water, both for cooling the core and transferring heat. As we’ve seen with recent heatwaves and environmental factors (like jellyfish clogging intake pipes), this can be a major vulnerability.
However, there are several advanced (Gen IV) technologies that use completely different substances for primary cooling:
* **Gas-Cooled Reactors (GCR, HTGR):**
Uses gases like Helium or CO2. The gas is pushed through the reactor where it reaches very high temperatures (800°C+). Because gas cannot boil, the reactor doesn’t need extreme pressure, and helium doesn’t become radioactive when exposed to the core.
* **Liquid-Metal Fast Reactors (LMFR):**
Uses liquid metals like sodium or lead. Liquid metals have exceptional heat transfer capabilities. These reactors operate at atmospheric pressure (eliminating the risk of pressure explosions), and the coolant can absorb a much higher thermal load than water.
* **Heat Pipe Microreactors:**
A completely “dry” technology with no pumps. Heat is passively transferred away from the core using sealed heat pipes containing alkali metals (conceptually similar to how a laptop processor is cooled, but on a massive scale).
* **Molten Salt Reactors (MSR):**
Uses fluoride or chloride salts that liquefy at high temperatures to transfer heat. One of the most fascinating aspects of some MSR designs is that the nuclear fuel itself is actually dissolved directly into the coolant salt.
**Important Note: Primary vs. Secondary Loops**
It’s crucial to distinguish between cooling the *reactor itself* (primary loop) and *generating electricity* (secondary loop). Even if a reactor uses helium or molten salt, that heat is still often used today to boil water for a steam turbine.
To make a power plant **100% water-independent**, it must pair a “dry” reactor with a dry electricity generation method—such as direct-cycle gas turbines (where expanding hot gas spins the turbine directly) or massive dry-air cooling towers (though these are less efficient than water cooling).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Major technology companies are rapidly expanding AI data centers, but their reported water use may not show the full picture, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon report the water used directly at their data centers, mainly for cooling. But they generally don’t include the water used by power plants that generate the electricity needed to run those facilities.
According to the WSJ, Meta is the only major company discussed that also includes water used at power stations supplying its data centers, in addition to water used on-site.
A 2024 analysis by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that indirect water consumption linked to electricity generation for U.S. data centers has historically been about 12 times their direct water consumption.
This does not mean every data center physically uses 12 times more water than reported. The figure compares direct water use at data centers with estimated indirect water consumption from electricity generation.
The total water footprint varies depending on where a data center is located, its cooling system and how its electricity is generated. As AI infrastructure expands, growing water demand could put additional pressure on regions already facing water shortages.
The WSJ also reports that Microsoft, Google and Amazon are among companies expected to spend about $1 trillion on AI infrastructure during 2025 and 2026, showing the enormous scale of the AI expansion.
Source: The Wall Street Journal — AI Data Centers Use Far More Water Than Most Tech Giants Report
Image for illustrative purposes only.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bk3FkmbaE/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HcgUK3MxL/
A California data center reportedly used about 29 million gallons of water in just 15 months, raising concerns among nearby residents and farmers about pressure on local supplies.
Families in the area reported lower water pressure as the facility expanded its operations.
The issue highlights a growing challenge for AI infrastructure in dry parts of the United States.
Large data centers need enormous amounts of electricity, and some cooling systems can also require substantial amounts of water.
In agricultural regions, that can create direct competition between industrial demand and the water needed for homes, farms and livestock.
The concern is especially serious in California, where drought, groundwater depletion and rising temperatures already place pressure on many communities.
Supporters of data center development point to jobs, investment and digital infrastructure.
Critics argue that projects should not be approved without clear information about how much water they will use and whether local supplies can support that demand.
As artificial intelligence continues to expand, water is becoming almost as important as electricity when deciding where large data centers should be built.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“I am good with closed loop systems but there is still rejection of heat to the atmosphere in the cooling tower that uses evaporation as a heat transfer method.”
The cooling tower that uses evaporation is just one heat transfer method. There are also several other heat transfer methods that do bot use water consuming cooling towers.
Dry Air Cooling (Air-Cooled Chillers): Uses fans to blow ambient outdoor air across finned fluid coils (like a giant car radiator).
Geothermal & Deep Water Cooling (SWAC): Passes internal server fluid through titanium heat exchangers submerged in naturally cold ocean, lake, or ground loops.
Adiabatic Hybrid Systems: Runs as a 100% dry air cooler for most of the year, using only light water misting on extreme high-heat days.
District Heating Heat Recovery: Captures warm server fluid (30^\circ\text{C}–45^\circ\text{C}) and uses commercial heat pumps to boost its temperature (70^\circ\text{C}–90^\circ\text{C}+) to deliver zero-water waste heat directly into municipal heating networks.
“Almost every watt of power that goes into a computer data center eventually ends up as heat.”
True.
“My point is these installations are very simple and very environmentally friendly when compared to the steel mills, chemical plants, and ship yards”
I would agree with this.
“They are jumbo electric loads but utilities can engineer solutions to serve them without impacting other customer’s electric service.”
True
Tomi Engdahl says:
Where data centers have been built close to subdivisions the residents can rarely sell theirs homes because of the noise. They should not be built closer than 5 mile from the nearest homes, zoos,wildlife refuge,etc. It should be mandatory for them to have their own on-site power plants and use recirculating cooling systems so that they’re not draining local water sources.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18ZU2MuFD5/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Irene Hutchens Ridgway
Calling them “Death Centers” is classic social media rhetoric—a catchy slogan designed for clicks and outrage. But looking past the dramatic framing reveals where the claim is pure hyperbole and where the underlying water concern is legitimate.
Data centers are not toxic waste dumps. At their core, they are massive, highly secure warehouses filled with computer servers, networking equipment, and heat exchangers.
No direct toxic runoff: Unlike chemical plants or industrial manufacturing, data centers do not generate toxic chemical effluent or pollute surrounding soil during normal operation.
Primary outputs: Their main physical outputs are electricity consumption, mild heat, and noise (from large cooling fans).
Local impact: The main environmental footprint is indirect—driven by where their electricity comes from (e.g., fossil fuel power plants vs. clean energy) and how much land they occupy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The phrase “Everything needs water” points to a genuine issue, but the scale and context matter significantly.
Where the concern is REAL (The Local Level):
Potable Water Competition: In dry regions (like Arizona, Texas, or Eastern Oregon), building an evaporative-cooled data center that drinks 1 to 5 million gallons of municipal drinking water a day puts direct pressure on local aquifers and municipal water lines.
Vapor Loss: Evaporative cooling towers turn liquid water into steam. That water goes into the atmosphere rather than returning to the local sewage system, which creates real friction during regional droughts.
Where the claim is EXAGGERATED (The National Level):
Minor Share of Total Water: All U.S. data centers combined consume less than 0.5% of national freshwater.
The Real Consumers: By comparison, irrigated agriculture (mostly growing feed crops like alfalfa and hay) consumes over 75% of water in the American West, and residential lawn watering uses over 10 times more water annually than every data center in the country.
Because water availability has become a bottleneck for local approvals, tech companies are actively phasing out traditional water-evaporating cooling towers.
Summary
Data centers aren’t “killing life,” but they do consume substantial resources in specific towns where they are built. The solution isn’t hyperbole—it’s enforcing strict local zoning that mandates zero-water dry cooling and clean energy grid connections.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://futurism.com/science-energy/official-hottest-america-ever-been?fbclid=IwVERDUATsvaZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHutmroZJwbCkQrKRVWfhERAPOKMAgvneMf544_L4-otHLp_s3uwf06ZiUaLN_aem_gI2tQKcMh8MKb1SLmUlEcQ
While the heat was more concentrated in the Midwest during the Dust Bowl, all 48 lower states experienced excessive heat this summer — at least one degree Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th century average.
And instead of focusing on ways to fight the effects of climate change, much of the country is moving in the opposite direction. The Trump administration is closely aligned with the fossil fuel industry and is actively seeking to reopen coal-burning plants. AI data centers powered by gas generators are compounding a major uptick in greenhouse gas emissions.
The result is a country literally on fire, while suffering the second-worst July drought conditions on record for the contiguous US, according to Yale Climate Connections. Per the US Drought Monitor, a whopping 71 percent of the contiguous US experienced abnormal dryness or drought during the first week of August, coming on top of billions of dollars in direct damages during the first half of 2026.
Meanwhile, major wildfires continue to burn across both the US and Canada, exposing millions to dangerous levels of air pollution and causing an estimated 4,000 premature deaths across the continent within a single week last month, according to The Economist.
“This may be one of the coolest years we’re gonna experience for the rest of our lives,” Masters told the AP.
To give humanity a fighting chance we need to “stop burning so many fossil fuels,” he added. “We also need to be spending money to adapt to the new climate that we’ve put in place.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sari-Ella Tikla alueittain jenkeissä ollaan torppaamassa, samoin Hollannissa. Molemmilla samantapaiset syyt, kuluttavat vettä, haihdutusjäähdytys, Suomessa ei näin ole, vaan suljettu vesikiertojäähdytys.
Käyttävät fossiilienergiaa sähkön tuotantoon, meluisaa ja haisee pahalta, lisäksi CO2 päästöt. Suomessa sähkö tuotetaan monipuolisesti ja fossiilisen osuus on pieni.
Lisäksi jenkeissä kukaan ei halua investoida siirtoverkkoon, koska se ei tuota tarpeeksi, eli Suomen siirtoverkko on vahva, verrattuna jenkkeihin, Hollantiin, tai vaikka Ruotsiin.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1HSUpKit8V/
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has highlighted community reports of wildlife disappearing around some large data-center developments in the United States. Residents have reportedly contacted her with concerns about fewer birds, disappearing wildlife and dead animals, including concerns involving areas used by bald eagles. These reports are being collected through her data-center tracking initiative.
Brockovich has linked residents’ concerns to the broader environmental footprint of hyperscale data centers, including land clearing, tree removal, constant cooling-system noise, heavy water use and construction of supporting power infrastructure. However, these potential impacts can vary significantly from one project to another and require site-specific environmental studies.
Importantly, the reported wildlife impacts are community observations and allegations, not established scientific evidence that data centers are causing wildlife populations or migration patterns to change.
Sources:
Interview on the Shawn Ryan Show – YT
Fox – LiveNOW
The Guardian
Tomi Engdahl says:
Claim: “Fossil fuel power plants don’t need near as much water as a nuclear reactor.”
The Nuance: On a per-megawatt-hour basis, nuclear plants do typically draw and consume slightly more water than modern natural gas plants, but they are roughly on par with coal plants.
Why? Both nuclear and fossil fuel plants generate electricity using thermal steam cycles (boiling water to turn a turbine, then condensing the steam back into water).
Combined-cycle natural gas plants burn gas directly in a turbine and use waste heat for steam, making them more water-efficient per MWh. However, a traditional coal plant consumes nearly as much cooling water as a nuclear reactor of equivalent output.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This is a conspiracy theory that data centers are made to steal water cones with no basis in reality.
Data centers are large because they house thousands of server racks, power supplies, and cooling systems for internet and AI services—not to store or “steal” water.
While evaporative-cooled data centers do consume water, all U.S. data centers combined account for less than 0.5% of national freshwater use (compared to agriculture, which uses over 75%). Furthermore, tech companies are rapidly switching to dry cooling, closed-loop liquid systems, and recycled wastewater to eliminate direct water consumption entirely.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HCgvM5TuF/
In Northern Virginia—the world’s largest data center hub—an analysis of 132 facilities found they are backed by more than 10,500 industrial diesel generators.
Although intended for emergency backup power, these units undergo regular maintenance testing that discharges hazardous emissions, such as fine soot and nitrogen oxides.
Research from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Washington indicates that running these generators for under an hour each week generates air pollution equivalent to five large gas-fired power plants, aggravating respiratory ailments and leading to premature deaths.
Similar health and air quality concerns are emerging across states like Maryland, Delaware, Utah, and Oregon as server infrastructure expands.
While regulatory bodies and industry operators state that facilities comply with environmental limits, residents frequently report visible soot, black smoke, and acute irritation.
The issue is further compounded as grid operators receive authorization to utilize backup diesel capacity to meet peak electrical grid demands.
#datacenter #virginia #US