A new study that focused on where data centers should be built across the U.S. cautioned that the net zero promises of tech companies aren’t likely to hold up against the energy and water needs of the massive facilities.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study also showed pluses and minuses when it comes to data center locations in Oklahoma and the region. For instance, the study indicated the top ten states grappling with severe water scarcity issues are California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon and Montana, which are concentrated primarily in the western United States.
Water of course is a major need for cooling in the large data centers. The study found that large adoption of hydropower leads to increased unit energy–water footprint in several states such as Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, exacerbating the water scarcity issue.
Oklahoma was not among those states reported to be grappling with water and was found to be among several states identified as the top ten states with abundant renewable energy potentials. The states were Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
One of the authors of the analysis concluded the study, started three years ago, came at “a perfect time to understand how AI is making an impact on climate systems and water usage and consumption.”
The study, which focused on the environmental impact of data centers identified a few states as best sites for AI server deployment and they were Texas, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. The choices were made because of the abundant renewables, low water scarcity and what it called projected water and carbon intensities.
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