Datacenters face rising thirst as Europe dries up

Analysts warn cooling demands could outstrip supplies as heatwaves intensify

Water scarcity is rising up the agenda as one of the major concerns for datacenters in Europe following an unusually hot and dry summer, marked by intense heatwaves in southern parts of the continent.

While much attention has focused on the soaring energy consumption of bit barns due to factors such as higher-density infrastructure used for AI training, the availability of water for cooling is now what's worrying operators, according to data analytics and consulting biz GlobalData.

Climate change has disrupted normal weather patterns, making wildfires and flash floods more common, while the parched and baked ground can result in less rainwater getting absorbed into aquifers.

"Climate change also means that the requirement for water to cool the ever-expanding base of datacenters is likely to become an issue that needs addressing," commented Robert Pritchard, GlobalData Principal Analyst, Enterprise Technology & Services.

Despite efforts by industry to find alternatives to water for cooling and attempts to reduce overall use, Pritchard claims that H₂O continues to play a huge role. He cites figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that estimate AI tools will require 4.2-6.6 billion cubic meters of water per year by 2027. "More than the entire annual use for a country like Denmark, or nearly half of that of the UK," he says.

The Register has reported previously on the difficulties that datacenter operators face in cutting water use in the face of rising demand for hot 'n' hungry AI servers.

Research published last month from consultants Maplecroft indicated that many of the world's top datacenter locations are at risk from rising global temperatures, with growing cooling requirements pushing up costs and water consumption, while shutdowns to prevent overheating during heatwaves may become more frequent.

It estimated that an average mid-sized facility uses about 300,000 gallons (1.4 million liters) of water a day, and said this requirement is likely to increase as temperatures rise.

However, the Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe (CISPE) trade association warned earlier this summer that burdensome regulatory demands from the European Commission aimed at curtailing use of the precious liquid could see operators choose to build their massive bit barns elsewhere instead.

CISPE put forward its own recommendations for how to deliver the EU's Water Resilience Strategy, claiming that it strongly supports the European Commission's commitments on saving water resources.

Meanwhile, cloudy giant Google recently emitted its own missive, claiming that the use of H₂O by AI infrastructure has been grossly overstated, although this has been met with skepticism and criticism for its test methodology.

GlobalData points out that wherever there is a major challenge, the technology industry usually finds solutions. But in this case, the problem of water scarcity is a political issue and a social issue, not just a technology concern.

"There is no water equivalent of carbon credits to hide behind," Pritchard said, labeling such schemes among big energy consumers as "obfuscation tactics that have often saved blushes amongst greenwashers."

More importantly, where energy can have on-site backup generators for grid failures, there is no equivalent for water, he warned. ®