November 7, 2024
5 read me
Rainwater can help meet AI’s water demands
A dozen ChatGPT queries are worth a bottle of water. Tech companies should consider simpler solutions, like rainwater harvesting, to meet AI needs
At the end of September Microsoft announced It said it had secured a deal to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to power its growing network of data centers. Reviving the plant, which was a partial disaster in 1979, is one of several extraordinary moves by tech companies to meet growing energy demand from artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other technologies. Industry analysts at Transforma Insights predict the world will arrive almost 30,000 crores Internet of Things devices by 2030, in 2020 were less than 10 billion.
However, as big tech companies tout nuclear power and other low-carbon energy plans, they have come up with surprisingly few ideas to address the use of another growing scarce resource: water.
Data centers require large amounts of water to absorb and dissipate the heat generated by the servers’ liquid cooling systems. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside found that between five and 50 ChatGPT requests can be made consume Up to 500 milliliters of water (close to the amount in a 16-ounce bottle). Those drinks add up. google used 20 percent more water in 2022 compared to 2021, as it increased AI development. Microsoft’s water use rose 34 percent over the same period. By 2027 AI is expected to equal the amount of water used worldwide in one year. It is consumed by a small European nation. Worse, there are many data centers located in regions with water stress. Recently, a data center owned by Google in The Dalles, Oregon. it commanded a third of the city’s water supply between drought conditions.
About supporting science journalism
If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you’re helping to ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world.
While some technology companies are making investments in water recycling, others are imagining the long haul innovations such as transporting seawater inland or even moving data centers under the ocean. Many are ignoring the cost of water use, not to mention the specter of drought. So far, only a handful of tech companies have taken steps to apply what may be the simplest, most proven, and most promising water risk mitigation strategy: capturing rainwater from the sky.
People have been collecting rainwater since ancient times. It is now growing interest among advocates of water conservation is to collect rain from roofs and send it down canals into tanks. Then, in the data centers, this water would be routed through cooling systems. recently studies showing the harvest also a small part As a result of rain falling in a particular area, it can eliminate water scarcity, while simultaneously recharging the ground water and reducing pollution from rainwater runoff. No intermediaries are required when water is collected from the roof, which means that rainwater harvesting can be more expensive than buying equivalent amounts from the municipal supply, and can be avoided. greenhouse emissions related to pumping water between sites.
For years, some states and municipalities restricted residential and industrial rainwater harvesting due to concerns about water quality or reduced water supplies. But recently the state after the state has authorized the practice as Evidence for the benefits of conservation is mounting. cities like Tucson and Austin are now encouraging rainwater harvesting by offering incentives and setting requirements. the apple, Ford and Toyota more recently, they have integrated rainwater harvesting systems into corporate campuses and manufacturing facilities.
But we believe data centers are the biggest untapped opportunity for water conservation through rainwater harvesting. It’s not just that data centers are in dire need of water; also that their large, flat roofs are suitable for collecting water. 50,000 square meter roof collect About 31,000 gallons of water from just one inch of rain, about as much as an average residential swimming pool fills. Many data centers have roofs larger than 100,000 square feet, and hyperscale data centers owned by large technology companies have roofs of up to a million square feet.
Why aren’t more data centers relying on rainwater harvesting? Cost, for one. Setting up a system for a commercial facility such as a data center typically costs between $2 and $5 per square foot, depending on system complexity, storage and filtering needs. If the cost of municipal water in an area is low, it may not make sense to invest in rainwater harvesting. Additionally, rainwater systems rarely cover the entire amount of water needed to cool a data center. Some large installations can consume a million liters of water every day.
But the economics of rainwater harvesting make more and more sense as the cost and uncertainty of water resources increase, especially as the climate changes. Like installing solar panels, installing a rainwater harvesting system is a one-time investment that reduces long-term utility costs. In some cases, companies can leverage their stormwater management budgets to collect rainwater. In the greater Dallas area, home to many of the nation’s data centers, average rainfall means that rainwater harvesting systems can cover up to one-third of a data center’s cooling needs, depending on size and storage systems. Although the numbers are lower in arid regions, the higher cost of water in these areas usually makes the economics of rainwater harvesting more attractive. As public concern grows about the environmental effects of AI and other technologies, companies will likely need to consider the financial and reputational risks of inaction on water.
Some industry leaders are beginning to see the potential. A google The data center in South Carolina is using rainwater retention ponds to collect rainwater. A Microsoft data center has implemented rainwater harvesting in Sweden, reducing reliance on local water sources. It highlights the potential of Amazon Web Services rainwater collection in its positive water strategy.
At the policy level, green banks— clean energy-based financial institutions that are expanding across the country after a $27 billion federal investment through the Inflation Reduction Act — could soon begin helping to provide financing for stormwater projects. Stormwater has the potential to win bipartisan support, and potentially tax credits, under recent renewable legislation. While the approach may be a popular cause among Democrats for climate resilience reasons, Republicans can support rainwater harvesting without having to accept the science of climate change or oppose fossil fuel lobbies.
At a time when Silicon Valley is turning to energy solutions like long-dormant nuclear power plants, it seems strange to tackle a serious global challenge using a technology as old as civilization itself. But sometimes the best solutions can fall from the sky.
This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author(s) are not necessarily their own. American scientific
