Unlike the scrutiny around the environmental footprint of bitcoin mining, the energy and water use needed to power artificial intelligence has largely flown under the radar.
Yet the increased demand for data centres from the widespread adoption of AI technologies is creating heavy environmental impact.
As Amazon embarks on a three-year $13.2 billion investment into its Australian cloud infrastructure on the east coast, it is addressing the environmental impact of data centres, with a focus on reducing power and water usage.
Heavy water usage
Data centres require significant water use for cooling systems. Take Google's data centres for example, which require 16.2 billion litres of water every year for cooling purposes.
While Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Amazon's cloud computing arm — has not disclosed its water consumption, it has pledged to replenish more water than it uses by 2030. This will involve collaborating with non-profit organisations to enhance water access and improve the efficiency of cooling systems.
In Australia, AWS aims to return around 32 million litres of water yearly to Sydney's catchment area through a partnership with the Greater Eastern Ranges conservation group. The project, focusing on environmental restoration in the Wollondilly Shire, seeks to remove invasive weeds that hinder the growth of native habitats and consume extensive amounts of water.
Great Eastern Ranges chief executive Gary Howling said: “A key objective of the project will be to not only provide immediate environmental, social and cultural benefits to the Wollondilly Shire and beyond but also to build the resilience of our communities and wildlife in the face of future climate disasters.”
While this is Amazon’s first water replenishment project in Australia, it has completed similar programs overseas, including one in Britain with The Rivers Trust to build two wetlands on a tributary of the Thames, aiming to improve the quality of London’s water supplies.
Making data centres more sustainable
AWS's commitment in Australia is part of a broader strategy to make data centres more sustainable. This involves initiatives such as designing more energy-efficient computer chips and employing evaporative cooling techniques that draw hot air from outside, pass it through a filter and wet cooling pad to circulate cool air.
These measures have made AWS's data centres notably more water-efficient, using less than one cup of water to cool one kilowatt-hour of IT load, compared to an industry average of around 1.8 litres.
AWS Asia-Pacific sustainability lead Jenna Leiner said: “We have to think about both energy and water consumption. That really guides the strategy around these elements when we start looking at evaluating climate patterns, local water management availability opportunities to use sustainable water sources.”
This effort comes as energy and water availability pose significant challenges for data centre development, with countries like Singapore imposing moratoriums on data centre expansion due to insufficient resources to power homes and industry plus data centres.