AI Mega-Projects Spark Water Concerns in Europe’s Driest Areas

Europe’s ambitious artificial intelligence strategy is facing a critical challenge: water scarcity. The burgeoning AI sector, heavily reliant on data centers, requires significant resources, raising concerns about sustainability, particularly in regions already grappling with limited water supplies.

The European Union’s ambitious plans to at least triple its data center capacity over the next five to seven years, aiming to position itself as a global AI leader, are now under scrutiny. The expansion, while promising economic growth and technological advancement, clashes with the increasing pressure on Europe’s water resources.

The rapid proliferation of data centers, the backbone of the digital economy powering everything from social media to sophisticated AI applications, has ignited apprehension, especially in water-stressed regions. The convergence of AI aspirations and environmental realities presents a complex dilemma for European policymakers and tech giants alike.

Southern Europe is particularly vulnerable with approximately 30% of its population residing in areas experiencing chronic water stress, where demand consistently outweighs available supply. This scarcity poses a direct challenge to the sustainable operation of data centers, which typically consume substantial amounts of water for cooling.

Tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have poured billions into establishing new data center facilities in Spain, while Google intends to establish three hubs in Greece’s Attica region. These investments, while boosting local economies, also amplify concerns about water usage in already arid regions. The potential strain on local water resources raises questions about the long-term viability and environmental impact of these projects.

Kevin Grecksch, associate professor of water science, policy and management at the U.K.’s University of Oxford, argues that the lack of integrated planning by policymakers is evident in these plans. He told CNBC that the allure of AI often overshadows critical sustainability considerations.

“AI is a buzzword,” Grecksch said. ” Politicians try to get their hands on it…sustainability seems to be an afterthought.”

Grecksch highlights fundamental concerns regarding water prioritization. “In most jurisdictions, public water supply has priority. What happens if data centers are shut down in a drought scenario?”

“Data centres tend to be built in arid or semi-arid climates because that’s the preferred environment for servers; yet those areas tend to be subject to water scarcity or drought prone as well,” Grecksch said.

The European Commission addressed these concerns, stating that the European High Performance Computing Joint Initiative (EuroHPC JU) policies prioritize energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in selecting hosting sites for AI factories.

A spokesperson told CNBC via email that “Green computing will continue to be pursued through energy-efficient supercomputers optimised for AI, using techniques such as dynamic power saving and re-use techniques like advanced cooling and recycling of the heat produced,”

The EU cited the “JUPITER” supercomputer in Jülich, Germany, highlighting its reliance on renewable energy and advanced cooling and energy reuse system as example of European excellence in addressing energy efficiency .

In Aragon, a water-stressed region in northeastern Spain, Amazon’s plans to open three data centers, creating thousands of jobs, has sparked local tensions, pitting farmers against local environmental activists

The designation of Culham as the first of the British government’s “growth zones” close to first new reservoirs in 30 years has raised fears that data centers could put further pressure on local water supplies.

Nick Kraft, senior analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, notes that “Complicating the matter is the fact that the most common understanding of data center water usage, and typically what companies report on when communicating with local stakeholders, is on-site water use — or the water used for cooling in data centers,”

“This despite more than half of data centers’ water footprint being off-site, occurring in energy generation and semiconductor manufacturing,” he added.

Emerging indicators suggest increasing maturity in data center water stewardship, Kraft notes, but assessing full water footprint will remain a major challenge.

A recent S&P Global analysis projects a high average exposure to water stress for the data center industry in the 2020s. The data pinpoints southern European countries like Spain and Greece face the most water stress.

Michael Winterson, secretary general of the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), representing the European data center operator community, conveyed that water consumption is a major concern for the industry.

“Water treatment and collection is now normal for us. And there are continual innovations in this space that reduce energy required, reduce water needed and are fast approaching near zero chemical treatment,” Winterson noted.

Getting non-potable water feeds is the “next big thing,” said Winterson, noting the region generally lags behind in the US. Getting water that’s not safe for drinking but can be used for other industrial processes will reduce reliance on chemicals and energy.

Data center operators suggest it is the sustainability aspect of the technology that drives them to consider sustainable innovations. Companies often use water usage effectiveness (WUE) as a metric for identifying water efficiency in data centers, however the metric poses its own limitations.

Microsoft has been trialing data center designs that it says consumes zero water for cooling and Start Campus said it’s Sines facility in Portugal achieves a WUE of zero by recycling seawater through its sytems.

EUDCA’s secretary general also sought to highlight the importance of data centers “This is trillions of dollars of GDP and millions of technology jobs in Europe alone — which in average pay significantly higher salaries than national average wages. A 20 [megawatt] Datacentre uses the similar amount of water as a golf course! How much GDP do golf courses create? What kind of jobs?” Winterson said.

European lawmakers have previously expressed concern about the region’s growing water crisis. They emphasize the need to address issues such as food scarcity and pollution at a time when Europe is the fastest-warming continent on the planet.

The European Environment Agency stated that the region’s water resources are currently under “severe pressure”, noting also that water stress affects one-third of Europe’s population and territory.

Laura Ramsamy, the climate and hazard lead at data analytics platform Climate X, said the impact of AI exacerbates the situation. The rollout of new hyperscale data centers in already water-stressed European areas “is really exacerbating the problem.”

Meta paused construction of a large data center in the Netherlands in 2022 amid objections over environmental issues. Issues such as high power and water consumption were key factors.

Ireland has also come under scrutiny from environmental groups, with many of these hubs concentrated in the Dublin area.

Notably, the Netherlands and Ireland have imposed effective bans on new data centers over the coming years due to concerns over grid capacity and environmental impact.

A spokesperson stated that data centers had “positively contributed” to Ireland’s economy over the past decade.

“As with all sectors of our economy, the operation and development of data centres are underpinned by Ireland’s legally binding climate objectives and the need to maintain robust energy security,” the spokesperson said.

“It is understood that the largest data centres in Ireland primarily operate air cooling rather than water cooling systems. This differentiates Ireland from many global data centre locations,” they added.