The AI Boom Could Triple Data Center Water Use by 2030
The massive data center capacity scale-up underway has focused attention on the scale of water required for these facilities to operate. Rystad Energy estimates that without water-saving measures in place, global water consumption by data centers could rise to 644 billion liters per year by 2030.
Why It Matters
This story touches on data, water, center — topics readers are actively tracking. Review and add editorial context before publishing.
Key Facts
- Fact 1: Rystad Energy estimates that without water-saving measures in place, global water consumption by data centers could rise to 644 billion liters per year by 2030.
- Fact 2: However, active mitigation could reduce demand to 388 billion liters, representing worst- and best-case scenarios as data center capacity ramps up, driven largely by the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday life.
- Fact 3: Based on Rystad Energy estimates, data centers consumed 222 billion liters of water directly for cooling in 2025, but that figure could nearly triple to just under 644 billion liters by 2030 in our risked central case.
- Fact 4: More water-efficient pathways could bring this down to 543 billion liters in the moderate case or as low as 388 billion liters in an aggressive water-saving scenario.
The massive data center capacity scale-up underway has focused attention on the scale of water required for these facilities to operate. Rystad Energy estimates that without water-saving measures in place, global water consumption by data centers could rise to 644 billion liters per year by 2030.
However, active mitigation could reduce demand to 388 billion liters, representing worst- and best-case scenarios as data center capacity ramps up, driven largely by the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday life. Forecasting the water impact of data centers is far from straightforward, with consumption varying significantly depending on cooling technology, climate and whether we measure water withdrawn or water actually consumed. Based on Rystad Energy estimates, data centers consumed 222 billion liters of water directly for cooling in 2025, but that figure could nearly triple to just under 644 billion liters by 2030 in our risked central case.
(Original synthesis pending human/AI review — generated by the stub provider by selecting real sentences from the source material, not by writing new analysis or commentary.)
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