Fall 2024

Environmental and Community Impacts of Large Data Centers

By Naomi Slagowski, M.S., and Christopher DesAutels, M.S.

In the past decade, advances in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and storage, and cryptocurrency mining have led to the rapid growth of large centralized data centers to supplement and replace smaller localized server rooms in office buildings.  Major cloud computing and internet service providers more than doubled their use of electricity between 2017 and 2021.  This trend towards the building of centralized data centers is expected to continue with the consistent growth of AI use, increasing the already considerable amount of power they require to operate.  For example, an AI query, such as one conducted via the chatbot ChatGPT, uses ten times the electricity of a typical Google search (EPRI, 2024).  Beyond these power needs, data centers use vast amounts of water to cool servers, require backup power (i.e., batteries and generators), and generate noise, particularly during backup-power testing.  In recent years, data centers have been built with even greater capacity – often using as much power and water as a small city or town (Calma, 2021; EPRI, 2024).

The nationwide distribution of data centers is highly disproportionate because the location of these centers is dependent on the availability of internet infrastructure, as well as lower cost and readily available land, power, and water; the business climate; and the geographical need to be near data generators and users (EPRI, 2024).  The largest concentration of data centers in the United States (US) and the world is in Virginia, where high-speed internet connectivity and proximity to government users is especially high (Data Center Map, 2024; Paullin, 2024).  The figure below shows the concentrations of centralized data centers in the continental US, with six states hosting approximately half of the US data centers:  Virginia, California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and New York (Data Center Map, 2024) (see Figure).

Distribution of Centralized Data Centers in the Continental United States

Communities near proposed or current data centers often object to their construction or operation due to concerns about noise, greenhouse gas emissions, strain on local utilities, utility costs, loss of cultural areas, and air quality issues (Paullin, 2024).  While servers within the data centers can have localized noise impacts, the need to supply redundant backup power in the case of utility power loss, along with the need for large amounts of water to cool the centers, can have broader impacts on communities.  Currently, data centers cover power failures with either generators, which typically run on diesel, or backup batteries; each of these options has drawbacks for people living near these centers.

Generator tests are the primary sources of air quality and noise issues that can have an impact on a nearby community.  Emergency backup generators are common features of many industrial developments, providing power consistency for critical operations, such as lighting and safety systems.  For data centers in particular, generators are also required to support the center’s full computational load (i.e., the amount of computational work a system can perform), which can require tens of megawatts of power (enough to power a few thousand homes for a day) distributed among dozens or even hundreds of generators.  Backup-power generators operate on intermittent schedules and their testing regulations vary by state.  Typically, data centers have two sources of backup power (i.e., two sets of generators) that are tested approximately once a month for 5-30 minutes.  Data center backup-power tests usually run for 100 hours or less a year; however, these tests can raise concerns amongst residents regarding noise, diesel exhaust, and nitrogen dioxide emissions (EPRI, 2024).  At some larger data centers, generator installations can take the form of small power stations and provide both emergency backup and peak load shaving capacity (i.e., a way to trim electricity costs).

Using batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, as a backup-power source comes with its own set of challenges for data centers.  Batteries can provide storage capacity to balance loads at data centers, making use of renewable energy sources, such as solar power.  In addition, they can provide an emergency backup-power source, either for short-term power before the activation of diesel or natural gas generators, or for long-term emergency use.  Safety concerns for large lithium-ion battery installations include risk of thermal runaway (i.e., an accelerated increase in temperature), release of gases, and environmental impacts from fire suppression systems (Jeevarajan et al., 2022).  For instance, fire suppression systems at data centers need to be constructed carefully to contain potential fires, protect the environment, and safeguard electrical systems and equipment.

Major cloud computing and internet service providers more than doubled their use of electricity between 2017 and 2021.”

Data centers are subject to environmental justice (EJ) concerns as part of permitting, whether they are located in urban or rural areas.  Typically, data centers are built in lower-income communities, where property values may be lower, and often do not provide many local jobs beyond the construction phase.  Generally, permits for data centers are for backup-power sources, though these centers may be required to comply with state or local noise ordinances, or, in some states, noise permitting requirements.  If data centers seek renewable energy sources, such as installing solar panels that can reduce local air and noise impacts, these alternative energy sources are subject to additional permitting requirements.

Our global reliance on data centers is not slowing down – and the amount of energy these centers consume could double by 2030 (EPRI, 2024).  Now is the time to implement improvements to how data centers consume power and water, to decrease risks to local communities and reduce climate change impacts.  Of late, data center operators have been working to improve backup-power options and to rely less on local utilities and water sources, including using renewable energy, such as on-site solar power, or cooling water from mines (Calma, 2021; Paullin, 2024).  To avoid backup-battery failures leading to fires, data centers are required to implement stringent manufacturing processes and quality control (Jeevarajan et al., 2022).  In addition to efficiency improvements and creative energy and water use, better regional power modeling will help data centers to more sustainably use utilities (EPRI, 2024).  As the construction of data centers continues to grow, designers and operators can prioritize these improvements to reduce their impact on people who live near data centers, as well as society as a whole.