A recent article in Bloomberg BNA’s Daily Environment Report looked at growing water usage concerns related to large data centers and how some top U.S. companies are working to mitigate the problem.
Data centers, used by governments and large corporations to house their computer systems, tend to run hot, and to keep them from overheating, hundreds of millions of gallons of water a year are pumped through the facilities. That high demand for water is a concern, especially in places like tech-heavy California, home to more than 800 data centers. Water usage there is especially a challenge as the state’s drought reaches its fifth year.
Companies are trying to get ahead of the risk, Bloomberg reported. In 2015, Facebook used a total of 221 million gallons of water, with 70 percent of that consumption at its data facilities. The company said it employs a combination of fresh air and water to cool its data centers, which are designed to use about half the water a typical data center uses.
Google said it redesigns the cooling technology at its data centers on average about every 12 to 18 months. A Google executive noted: “There is no ‘one size fits all’ model — each data center is designed for the highest performance and highest efficiency for that specific location and we’re always testing new technologies to further our commitment to efficiency and environmental responsibility.”
The need to boost water unit efficiency at data centers is driving some companies to open up locations near water sources and cooler climates. Facebook, for example, began operations at its overseas data center in Lulea, Sweden in 2013 near the Arctic Circle. Google operates a total of 15 data centers with four located in northern Europe.
_____
“Data Centers’ Water Use Has Investors on High Alert” appeared in the August 8, 2016 issue of Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report.