Water and Electricity Consumption
The way most data centers cool down their equipment as an alternative to using fans (which require a lot of energy)
Evaporative cooling (using water)
The primary energy source for most AI data centers
Fossil fuels
The reason why direct-to-chip cooling is a better option than traditional air and water cooling
Directly cooling the microchips instead of the whole server room with a closed-loop system that recycles evaporated water, requiring no additional on-site water consumption
The amount by which generative AI usage has increased in the past year
More than doubled
The purpose of nearly 50% of data centers' energy
Preventing their microchips from overheating
The source of energy that companies almost always promise data centers will rely on
Renewable and nuclear energy
Two alternatives to building data centers out in the open air on land
Sinking them in the North Sea and launching them into space
The biggest concerns Americans have when it comes to AI datacenters in their community
Electricity costs, water usage, noise
The amount of the city’s total water supply that Google's hyperscaler data center in Dallas, Oregon, used in 2021
Nearly 1/3
The type of pollution from data center power plants that could cause healthcare costs to reach $100M in some places
Fine particulate matter and heat islands
The main way data centers avoid driving up utility and electricity prices for locals especially during peak usage times
Onsite, off the grid power plants (although these have their own issues)
The regions of the US in which people are most likely to be affected by AI data centers
Around shorelines and the Great Lakes
The amount of Netflix binge-watching that can be done just by the amount of energy GPT-5 uses in a day
3,000 years (nonstop)
The amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the Stargate data center's proposed on-site power plant
Over 7.8 million tons per year (2 million cars worth of annual emissions)
The percentage by which direct-to-chip (DTC) cooling can reduce power used by fans
Up to 80%
The percentage of Americans who oppose having a data center in their community
65%