Under the boom of constructing artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, the United States has seen a surge in water and electricity usage.

According to the latest report released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), to help meet the growing power demand driven by data centers and AI, U.S. electricity developers have seen a record increase in power generation in the first half of this year, with the U.S. generating an additional 20.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from January to June.

At the same time, Virginia, home to many major U.S. technology companies, hosts the world's largest data center, and it has been reported that the region's water usage has increased by nearly two-thirds from 2019 to 2023.

The U.S. Power Generation Increase in the First Half of the Year Sets a New Record

Data from the EIA shows that the increase in power generation in the United States in the first half of this year is the highest year-on-year increase since 2003, with a 21% year-on-year increase in new power generation in the first half of the year, and it is expected to more than double by the end of this year, reaching 42.6 GW.

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The EIA also predicts that solar power generation will account for nearly 60% of the planned power generation for the remainder of this year. According to the agency, new projects alone will drive solar power generation to 37 GW this year, setting a historical record.

The EIA stated that the surge in electricity demand from data centers and the trend towards electrification have increased the demand for power generation. It is expected that most of the future supply will come from carbon-free power generation methods, including solar power and battery storage.

However, the growing energy demand has also slowed the decommissioning of coal and gas power plants. The EIA said that the capacity of power generation retired by operators in the first half of 2024 has decreased by 45% compared to the same period last year.

A report on AI safety supported by the British government previously claimed that the carbon intensity of the energy sources used by technology companies is a "key variable" in calculating the environmental costs of computing technology. However, a "significant portion" of AI model training still relies on fossil fuel energy.

Xiao Fusheng, a partner at EY's Strategy and Transactions Consulting Service, also said in a recent interview with Yicai Global that the large amount of electricity required for the expansion of AI computing power is a major issue that cannot be avoided at present.He also stated that AI technology is becoming a powerful driving force for energy transformation and reducing energy consumption. By precise scheduling and demand response, it paves the way for constructing an energy-efficient future power grid.

Surge in Water Usage by US Tech Giants

In addition to electricity, the surge in water usage is also a topic that cannot be avoided when building data centers and AI capabilities.

Previously, Google admitted in a report that the electricity consumption of the company's data centers will increase by 17% in 2023, accounting for 7% to 10% of the global data center electricity consumption. The water consumption of its data centers also increased by 17% compared to the previous year.

Currently, Virginia, USA, is the world's largest concentration of data centers, with major tech groups such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft having a significant number of facilities there.

According to reports, from 2019 to 2023, the water usage in this region increased from 1.13 billion gallons to 1.85 billion gallons. Julie Bolthouse, the Land Use Director of the Piedmont Environmental Council, a non-profit organization in Virginia, stated that given "we expect an explosive growth of (data centers) in the coming years," this trend in Virginia "raises questions about its sustainability."

According to estimates by the research institution Dgtl Infra, the water consumption of US data centers in 2023 will exceed 75 billion gallons, which is roughly equivalent to the water consumption of London, the capital of the United Kingdom, over four months.

Water is used by data centers to cool computing equipment. In the United States, some of these massive computing facilities are located in areas with water resource shortages, including parts of Virginia suffering from drought.

The Brookings Institution also stated in a previous report that some water-intensive digital infrastructure projects in the southwestern United States have put pressure on communities that are already suffering from water scarcity.

According to estimates by Bank of America, data centers are the tenth largest water consumer in the United States. Large individual facilities can consume millions of gallons of water per month, but tech companies are working to reduce water intensity, including the use of recycled and recycled water.Amazon has stated that it is "committed to being a good water steward," with its data center business aiming to achieve "positive water usage" by 2030. This means that the company will return more water to communities than it uses in its direct operations.

Microsoft and Google have also made similar commitments. Microsoft has indicated that it is working to reduce water consumption for cooling, stating that "starting from August of this year, our new data center designed for Virginia will utilize zero-water cooling technology."

Xiao Fusheng told reporters from Yicai that in the future, technology companies can approach reducing the energy demand of AI from aspects such as technological breakthroughs, resource sharing, and the utilization of new energy sources, but implementing these solutions is not easy.