The Truth About How Data Centers Use Water And Power To Keep Cool

U.S. voters passed 40 ballot measures putting limits on AI data centers this week, as huge 1GW AI data centers from OpenAI, Meta, SpaceXAI, Amazon, Google and more push up water and power bills and put a strain on local resources. One of the issues that continues to come up is water usage, which is needed to cool the GPUs inside data centers running AI workloads. Closed-loop liquid cooling keeps water use low inside many modern AI data centers, but external cooling is still needed to move heat outside of the buildings and that requires large amounts of power or water in hot climates. CNBC visited data centers and spoke to researchers to find out the truth about how data centers use water. Producer and Reporter: Katie Tarasov Edited by: Erin Black, Matthew Soto Camera: Andrew Evers Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt Animation: Jason Reginato, Emily Park Additional Footage: AMD, CoolIT, DeepX, Equinix, Getty Images, Meta, Micron, Nvidia, SK Hynix, TSMC » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more. Want to get ahead at work? Then you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC’s new online course, How To Talk To People At Work, expert instructors teach you how to use everyday conversation to gain visibility, build meaningful relationships and advance your career. Sign up now: https://cnb.cx/4sGlSkh Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC #cnbc The Less Water Data Centers Use, The More Power They Consume. Here’s Why