Data Centers Seek to Cut Their Thirst for Water

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Smart Water Management (Credit: Pixabay)

CyrusOne competes in the data center industry and has a portfolio of more than 40 enterprise-class facilities across three continents. That’s 4 million square feet in all. It is a voracious water user — to run its facilities powered by the electric grid. But it says that it is cutting that consumption by switching fuel sources and buying more renewable electricity. 

Not only do data centers use water. So do heavy industrials and utilities. To compound the matter, US electricity demand is expected to rise 7.3% over two decades — and water usage will rise as a result. Governments and businesses are now calling for concerted conservation efforts and technological advances.

“With many of our facilities in regions that are currently or predicted to be high in water stress, we face a risk of electrical supply volatility in the event of a short or long-term water shortage,” says CyrusOne in a blog. “As both electrical grids and individual consumers like CyrusOne replace thermoelectric sources with wind and solar generation, the water embodied in the electricity we consume decreases dramatically. When we at CyrusOne reach our net-zero carbon target through the use of renewable energy, we will consume effectively no water for cooling at the vast majority of our facilities, since we will neither evaporate water for cooling nor use water-consuming electricity.”

Context is critical. Climate change leads to droughts, especially in the southwestern and southeastern United States. It causes shortages that are pitting farmers against fishermen and green energy developers against fossil fuel producers. 

Datacenter operations are popping up all over the country. Companies such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are expanding — and increasing their water consumption as a result. But they are also among the greenest enterprises. According to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, there is not a good handle on the amount of water they consume. 

But a study by Environmental Research Letters looked at the amount of water used to cool data centers and the water used to generate power for those facilities: "Roughly three-fourths of US data centersoperational water footprint is from indirect water dependencies,” it says, per the Data Center Dynamics. "Collectively, data centers are among the top-ten water-consuming industrial or commercial industries in the US.” 

Will industry get left in the cold? 

As for CyrusOne, its largest facility is in Carrollton, Texas. In 2019, it withdrew 13.3 million gallons of water onsite for its hybrid air- and water-cooled system. It is also in a water-stressed region of the state, prompting the company in 2020 to upgrade its operations to a 100% water-free cooling design. It says that this change slightly raised the facilitys power usage but reduced its water withdrawals by 4.6 million gallons or 65%.

The data center innovator also purchased “Water Restoration Credits” to offset its onsite water consumption at the Carrollton site. It says that this equates to restoring 20% more water than it withdrew. Generally, it is building its data centers to be resilient — to be both energy and water efficient for decades to come. To that end, in 2020, it invested in new, renewable electricity sources to cover 70% of Carrollton’s power needs. 

“The total water consumed at Carrollton in 2021 will be less than a third of the consumption in 2019, demonstrating the promise of our onsite water-free cooling enabling a truly water-free cooling future for this facility,” CyrusOne says. The World Policy Institute says that wind and rooftop solar panels are the most efficient forms of electric power for water consumption.

Energy production is water-intensive, It is needed to run every type of power plant — natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables. Consider: Georgia and Alabama have battled over supplies during a severe drought in the southeastern United States: Georgias Lake Lanier, along with other bodies of water there, are providing water not just to the Atlanta metropolitan area but also to Alabamas electric generators, manufacturing facilities, and farm businesses.

The National Energy Renewable Laboratory has reported that the United States alone withdraws fresh water to the tune of nearly 1,500 gallons per capita each day. That includes 190 gallons a day for domestic and commercial use, 673 gallons each day for industrial use, and 600 gallons every day for agricultural use. 

Drought impacts in the West reduce the amount of available water for existing and planned thermal power production, urban and agricultural use, and hydropower,” it says. For example, California’s former Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation in 2018 to increase water efficiency standards — ones to encourage innovation and the technologies to improve water usage. 

Several decades ago, state and federal policymakers sought to address the water scarcity in California by building dams that could store water before releasing it to where it needed to go. Much of it went to central Californias farmers, which ecologists have said hurts wildlife: the Delta smelt and the Chinook Salmon, both of which are part of the food chain.

Energy, water, and food are inextricably linked, and experts fear that water demand will exceed the supplies. How will industry respond?  

Electric utilities and energy companies compete with farmers and ranchers for water rights …,” says the US National Climate Assessment. Across the country, these intertwined sectors will witness increased stresses due to climate changes that are projected to reduce water quality … and change heating and cooling electricity demand …”

Commercial and industrial complexes will rise to the challenge. Just as CyrusOne is doing, they will incorporate water-saving technologies while buying less-thirsty energy sources. That means using more and more sustainable fuels. Indeed, water scarcity is weighing heavily on companies — forcing them to rise to the climate challenges we collectively face. 

Environment + Energy Leader