This 2023 is being abnormally dry in Spain. With levels of rains of 17.1% lower than usual between 1991 and 2020, up to 14.6% of the country is in emergency due to a shortage of water and another 24.7% on alert, according to official data. In this context of droughtthe data clouds They are becoming part of the problem.
Connected 24 hours a day, we produce quintillions of bits of daily data, a volume so large that it is almost impossible to imagine. The websites we visit, the series we watch or the social networks in which we interact with others seem like ethereal entities detached from the physical world, an impression deliberately encouraged by users. technology giants.
In Spain there are 23 centers of this type and the sector is expected to grow by 371% until 2026
The reality, however, is much dirtier. The digital world has been built on data centerslarge ships full of computers that perform calculations day and night to store enormous amounts of information and to allow the increasingly optimal functioning of Internet. The incessant activity of this infrastructure is strategic, but it generates so much heat which requires refrigeration systems to keep it operational.
Much water
One option is the use of air conditioning; another, less common, is the water. This water resource is cheaper and emits less greenhouse gases, but its high consumption is worrying in the territories where the data centers are located. “It is a business, so companies act thinking about economic efficiency (…) and install themselves where water and energy are cheaper,” he points out. Ana Valdiviaresearcher and professor in AI, Governance and Policy at the Oxford Internet Institute.
The data centers of large technology companies ‘drink’ an average of 25 million liters annually, while the largest (known as hypercenters) can even reach 600 millionaccording to the specialized consultancy Dgtl Infra. In the United States it is already one of the 10 industries that consume the most water.
Studies indicate that 57% of the water they consume is drinkable
In fact, the demand for data centers does not stop growing. The digitization and the recent rise of artificial intelligence (AI) require more and more computing power and, at the same time, this translates into greater water consumption. Last year, Google used about 21,198 million liters of water, 20% more than in 2021, according to your own data. Microsoft centers consumed another 6,435 million liters in 2022, a 34% annual increase. Everything indicates that this liquid expenditure is due to increase in investment in AImarket for which they compete.
More centers in Spain
The growth of this industry has been especially marked in Spain. Currently there 23 centers spread throughout the territory that host data from other companies, according to the employers Spain DCbut another count of The Spanish There are 60 centers owned by technology companies that have already been installed and those that will be deployed. The association anticipates that the sector grows 371% until 2026at a much higher rate than Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris, the main markets.
Spain is becoming the “favorite destination for investors.” However, the rise of this business ecosystem threatens to skyrocket water consumption and strain a drought situation that the country has suffered for a prolonged period since last December, according to the Meteorology Statal Agency (AEMET). In May, The country reported that the technology giant Goal -owner of Facebook and instagram— will deploy a hyper data center that will consume more than 600 million liters of drinking water in Talavera de la Reina (Castilla La-Mancha), a region in climate pre-alert.
In the United States they have become one of the 10 industries that consume the most water
The employers assure that the use of water is “extremely reduced”, that it does not pose a risk and that the sector is “sustainable“. “It has to be optimized so as not to impose any limitations on human consumption or for other activities such as agriculture,” he explains. Manuel Gimenezexecutive director of Spain DC.
However, the employers do not have specific consumption figures. There is no doubt that putting data on this climate impact is not easy. “Companies hide information because they know that it is a critical issue that can generate public debate and lead to regulation,” adds Valdivia, who demands greater transparency to shed light on an “invisible” issue.
Opposition
These projects worry the civilian population. “It’s like the Wild West: they set up their centers in poor areas and they promise jobs to consume natural resources. They compete with the population for tap water, but they only see their economic interests,” he explains. Aurora Gomezpsychologist expert in digital behaviors and organizational activist Your Cloud Dry My River, which attributes the companies’ strategy to “colonial thinking.” In some cases, 57% of the water consumed is drinkable, according to a study of David Myton, from the Center for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. Using non-potable water would require going through filtration processes that would increase costs.
Related news
Experts have spent years denouncing that the opacity of many companies makes it difficult to put figures on the water expenditure of the centers. In this sense, in February 2022, the Government of the Netherlands declared a moratorium temporary in the installation of hypercenters after discovering that a Microsoft plant had consumed 84 million liters in one year, more than four times what was announced. Singapore applied a moratorium for fear of not being able to supply the centers sustainably and Ireland is debating it after high consumption has led to power outages. Protests are also growing since Uruguay to the USA. In The Dalles, a small town in Oregon, Google centers are already consume more than a quarter of their water.
In Spain, all forecasts indicate that the water shortage will get worse. “75% of our territory is in danger of suffering desertification due to a combination of more irregular rainfall, a significant increase in temperature and mistreatment of our soils and forests (…) and it is expected that there will be a worsening by 2050 if there is no strategic change in water management,” warns a report of the organization in defense of environment WWF.