![]() ![]() Shaolei Ren, an associate professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Riverside, has been researching big tech's water use for about a decade. Bill Clark/Getty Images What Makes AI So Thirsty? Wind power gives Iowa the country's highest proportion of green electricity, with more than 60 percent coming from renewable sources. Wind turbines spin above corn fields near Carroll, Iowa. Recent research shows that the enormous computing power, larger chips and additional servers required for AI not only add significantly to electricity demands, but also make many of those data centers much thirstier. The boom in AI is adding to the water demand. State Geologist Keith Schilling warned earlier this year that groundwater levels are declining in some of the state's aquifers and that the state "needs a plan to safeguard groundwater reserves." Along with the traditional water uses the state must balance, such as agriculture and residential systems, Schilling also listed "data centers requiring vast quantities of cooling water." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that by mid-March about 85 percent of the state was in drought condition, and about 56 percent of the state was in extreme or severe drought. Iowa is in the midst of one of its most prolonged droughts in decades. "There's a data center in a suburb called Altoona where they're using up to about one-fifth of the water that the city is using, and that's really significant," she said. Johannsen's group is tracking the increasing water usage by the state's data centers, most of them clustered in suburbs around Des Moines. Iowa is suffering through a prolonged drought that heightens concerns about the water use by the state's data centers. A river with low levels of water flows under Highway 65 near Bondurant, Iowa. ![]() "There's definitely parts of Iowa that are starting to feel the squeeze on water," Iowa Environmental Council Energy Program Director Kerri Johannsen told Newsweek.Ī river with low levels of water flows under Highway 65 near Bondurant, Iowa. The growing water consumption by data centers is becoming a challenge for some host communities. While Iowa is rich with green energy, there's another crucial resource that data centers need but Iowa often lacks: water.Īs data center operators power up the servers that keep the internet humming and make artificial intelligence possible, they also need large volumes of water to cool those servers down, to keep them from overheating. ![]() Some 60 percent of Iowa's electricity comes from renewable sources, so tech companies can power their data centers there while also working toward ambitious climate goals for low-carbon power. Tech companies also like Iowa's wind power, which gives it the country's highest rate of renewable energy. With its affordable land and modest electricity rates, Iowa has become a magnet for data centers for some of the world's tech giants. ![]()
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