Thanks for sharing this @ssteingraber1.bsky.social 🙏
Tech companies that are trying to reduce data centers' water and energy burdens seem to be ignoring one simple truth: data centers just aren't sustainable.
@ssteingraber1.bsky.social🧪 NEW STUDY: Air-cooled data centers have less direct water consumption than those using evaporative cooling but higher electric demand, which merely shifts the water footprint from the facility to the power generators, extending water depletion across the entire region.
arxiv.org/abs/2609.25437
arxiv.org
Data center cooling choices shift water impacts across the grid: An integrated water-energy model for sustainable data center development
Data centers are being developed at an unprecedented pace, yet their energy and water impacts, and the spatial and temporal distribution of these impacts, remain poorly characterized. Data centers con...