- Once completed, Microsoft's data center in Goodyear, Arizona, will use an estimated 56 million gallons of water per year.
- Desert town risks running out of water if more centers are allowed to open
Microsoft's massive new AI data center is draining a small desert town in Arizona's water supply, and its exact consumption is redacted from city documents.
When completed, Goodyear's 279-acre campus will use an estimated 56 million gallons of water per year, equivalent to the annual needs of 670 households, The Atlantic reported.
The factory will open in 2021 with two buildings, with plans to build a third building designed for use by Microsoft and OpenAI, which Microsoft is heavily funding.
Powering AI requires a lot of electricity, which generates heat and requires water to cool the servers.
“We will have to make tough choices in the near future to ensure our state is protected for future generations,” Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays told The Atlantic.
The state has been grappling with extreme weather, drought and high temperatures in recent years.
Last summer was Phoenix's hottest on record, with 55 days of temperatures above 110 degrees and the grid stretched to its maximum.
The situation was made worse by the decline of the Colorado River, which provides drinking water and hydroelectric power, and by the worst drought the region has faced in 1,000 years.
Water supplies are further strained in high-demand factories and factories.
“Allowing a state to have another data center is an easy decision, but in many cases it's a foolish decision,” Attorney General Chris Mays told The Atlantic.
According to The Atlantic, Microsoft is refusing to provide exact numbers on the Goodyear Center's water usage.
They reportedly redacted the exact numbers in city records, calling them “confidential information.”
However, they provided estimates and said the third building, once completed, will use 56 million gallons of water per year.
This isn't just an Arizona problem, as researchers at the University of California, Riverside last year estimated that global demand for AI could lead to data centers using up to 1.7 trillion gallons of fresh water by 2027. I presumed that there was.
Microsoft said it continues to strive to improve the sustainability of its data centers and be a “good neighbor.”
Barbara Chappell, director of water services for Goodyear, told the outlet that she is not concerned overall and has a good relationship with Microsoft.
But one former Microsoft employee told The Atlantic that they were “lazy” and that more could be done.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
AI and cloud computing data centers not only pose water issues, but also require large amounts of electricity.
Recent statistics show that artificial intelligence data centers and cryptocurrency mining are putting large swaths of the United States at risk of power outages, doubling projected energy demand over the next few years.
Without intervention, the already deteriorating national power grid will be pushed to its limits as demand surges driven by rapid innovations such as AI, cryptocurrencies, and clean energy initiatives, all of which will require vast amounts of power. will reach.
At Davos last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “We still don't understand the energy this technology will require. There's no way we're going to get there without breakthroughs.”
Projected electricity demand over the next nine years has more than doubled from 221,000 gigawatt hours last year to 564,000 gigawatt hours this year, according to the North American Electric Reliability Council.
This increase is primarily driven by the development of AI, cloud computing, and cryptocurrency mining, all of which require large data centers and, as a result, consume enormous amounts of electricity.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that globally, “power consumption by data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026.”
By 2026, they say, the world's data center energy needs will rival the energy needs of all of Japan.
There are currently an estimated 2,700 data centers in the United States, which will consume more than 4 percent of the nation's electricity by 2022, according to the IEA.
They predict that consumption will increase to 6% by 2026.