US EditionAI Data Centers Projected to Strain US Energy and Water Resources by 2030
By 2030, US AI data centers could emit up to 44 million metric tons of CO2 and use over 1 billion cubic meters of water annually, challenging net-zero targets.
- On November 10, 2025, Cornell researchers projected that by 2030 AI data centers could emit up to 44 million metric tons of CO2 annually and use water equal to the annual household usage of 10 million Americans.
- As recent years saw explosive AI use, heavy investments like Meta's $600 billion and OpenAI's $1.4 trillion are driving data center demand, increasing environmental impacts.
- Led by Fengqi You, the project frames AI’s rapid growth as having a real footprint in energy, water and carbon, using advanced analytics and AI on three years of multi-dimensional data compiled by Tianqi Xiao and co-authors.
- The analysis finds an actionable roadmap that could cut carbon by approximately 73% and water by 86%, with smart siting and water‑efficient cooling slashing water use by 52%.
- If decarbonization does not keep pace, emissions could rise roughly 20%, according to You, `Even if each kilowatt hour gets cleaner, total emissions can rise if AI demand grows faster than the grid decarbonizes`.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Inside Climate News
ecotopical.com‘It’s Not Too Late:’ New Cornell Study Maps the Environmental Cost of AI and How Policy Could Limit the Damage
Researchers warn that U.S. data centers could devour vast amounts of energy and water unless stronger guardrails shape the industry’s growth.By Carl David Goette-LuciakWhen Cornell University systems engineer Fengqi You started modeling the environmental footprint of data centers three years ago, the AI boom was just beginning. Even then, You and his colleagues noticed something missing from the conversation.
In Germany, more and more data centers are being built - especially for AI applications. However, compared to countries like the USA and China, the country and the whole of Europe still have considerable catching-up needs.
AI data centers projected to strain US energy and water resources by 2030
As the everyday use of AI has exploded in recent years, so have the energy demands of the computing infrastructure that supports it. But the environmental toll of these large data centers, which suck up gigawatts of power and require vast amounts of water for cooling, has been too diffuse and difficult to quantify.
AI data centers likely to strain US energy and water resources by 2030 - The Canadian Media
As the everyday use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has exploded in recent years, so have the energy demands of the computing infrastructure that supports it. But the environmental toll of these large data centers, which suck up gigawatts of power and require vast amounts of water for cooling, has been too diffuse and difficult to quantify, Cornell Univ researchers report. Now, Cornell Univ researchers have used advanced data analytics—and, natu…
The AI boom makes data center capacities in Germany grow strongly. By 2030, performance is expected to rise by 70 percent.
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