For myriad reasons, nearly all of which are unjustifiable and illogical, a vast majority of Americans “oppose AI data centers in their areas.”
Incredibly, as Gallup notes, “Seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their local area, including nearly half, 48%, who are strongly opposed. Barely a quarter favor these projects, with 7% strongly in favor.”
“Effects on local resources” is the runaway reason Americans oppose data center development, followed by “quality-of-life concerns.”
The biggest problem is that most Americans mistakenly believe that construction of AI data centers will deplete local water resources and undermine the electric grid, therefore increasing their costs.
The truth is that neither of these boogeyman arguments passes muster after a few minutes of research.
In January, the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association issued a report telling “the full story of data center water usage”
Most notably, the report contains a “breakdown” of “myths vs. reality around data centers and water.”
I bet most Americans have no idea that up to a quarter of data centers are “water-free” because they “do not consume water for cooling.” Instead, they use “air cooling.”
For data centers that do consume water for cooling, technological innovations such as “closed-loop water cooling” “can reduce freshwater use by up to 70% compared to traditional open evaporative methods.”
An even more novel cooling method is called “liquid cooling,” which can “transfer heat very efficiently and can significantly reduce water usage.”
Essentially, these new systems “consume” “far lower” amounts of water because “90–95%” of the water returned are “available for treatment.”
In the outdated open-evaporative systems, “70-80%” of water is lost to “evaporation.”
Innovations in cooling methods have dramatically reduced the water footprint of modern hyperscale data centers. This is a welcome development that should be celebrated.
Another common argument against data centers is that their sheer energy demand will burden the electric grid.
In a static environment, that might be the case. But thankfully, we exist in a dynamic world in which supply can be increased to meet a surge in demand.
Read the whole piece at Townhall.com.
Chris Talgo is the Editorial Director for The Heartland Institute and a fellow for Heartland’s Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center.
