Data centers for AI use huge amounts of electricity, water, driving up costs and climate concerns
Multiple reports show the data centers used to store, train and operate AI models use significant amounts of energy and water, with a rippling impact on the environment and public health.
According to the International Energy Agency, a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 households. A report from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute found large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day.
The water is used to keep computer hardware cool, and some data center developers are tapping into freshwater resources.
The use of diesel generators to keep data centers online have raised concerns about public health, as they can emit harmful pollutants that can contribute to asthma and other respiratory issues.
And since data centers are usually built in rural areas, marginalized communities are more likely to be affected.
Naperville City Council members voted down a proposed data center after months of opposition from residents. Their primary concerns were heavy water use for cooling, health risks and potential increases in utility costs.
In Aurora, data centers are going up quickly. Cyrus One began constructing its second data center there a year ago. The city currently has four data centers, with five more in the works.
Because of the interest in Aurora, the city set a 180 pause on any new data developments, which expires in March 2026.
"We have a lot of data centers that are requesting to come here as well. So we were seeing a need to put a pause on it here, because we didn't actually have a definition for data centers in our zoning and so they were essentially being treated as warehouses, and warehouses and data centers do not have the same uses," said Alison Lindburg, director of sustainability for Aurora. "They do not have the same impacts on neighborhoods."
Lindburg said Aurora is researching best practices for data centers, because a standard has not yet been set. They're also looking at requiring all new data centers to be considered conditional use.
"That means that City Council will always have approval for a data center," she said.
"We're also setting new noise requirements, new water consumption requirements and new energy requirements. We will also have continuous monitoring and reporting to the city about what those standards are and whether that compliance is being met," Lindburg added. "It's definitely possible to make these data centers be sustainable. We just have to ensure that they're actually doing it. And if we want them to be good neighbors, then we had to put these requirements in place."
Aurora held an open house Thursday night to share these guidelines with the public and address any community concerns.
