Investors Worry Data Centers' Water Use Has Become Extreme
As the demand for data centers continues to grow—especially with the growing prevalence of cloud-based technology—investors are growing wary of the sector's water use.
Data centers are packed with computer, server and networking systems. To keep the computers from overheating, hundreds of millions of gallons of water are pumped through the facilities on an annual basis. This can prove difficult in markets suffering from a lack of natural water resources—like tech-dominated California, Bloomberg reports.
California is home to some of the world's largest data centers and more than 800 facilities, and water usage has been a huge concern for the state, which is in its fifth year of drought. To better address the concerns of water usage throughout the industry, investors are looking for ways to minimize risks by cutting water usage. [Bloomberg]
