Google claims it's building data centers that barely use any water

Source: Engadget

Google’s new Texas data center and water usage

Google is building another data center in Texas and says this one will use advanced air‑cooling technology to limit water consumption. According to the company, water use will be restricted to “critical campus operations” such as kitchens.

These specifics follow the previously announced two‑year, $40 billion investment the company has pledged in the Lone Star State. Google also touts roughly 7,800 megawatts of net energy generation and capacity it has contracted with utility providers to add to the Texas grid.

Broader context

The company’s resource‑conscious commitments come as communities nationwide push back on data‑center construction. Critics cite concerns that data centers can raise electric bills, increase global greenhouse‑gas emissions, and consume large volumes of fresh water.

Industry reactions

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has dismissed water‑use concerns as “fake,” adding that “it also takes a lot of energy to train a human.”
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other tech leaders have suggested that building data centers in space could mitigate many of these environmental issues.
• Some experts, however, warn that the potential environmental downside of such approaches could be devastating.

Source

This article originally appeared on Engadget: