Major electric utilities in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah are collectively forecasting energy demand to surge more than 50% over the next decade. That’s largely due to the rising development of data centers, which power AI tools and cloud services.
If that happens, new data centers in those states, combined, could be using about 7 billion gallons of water a year. This is the annual water use of more than 190,000 people, according to a report by Western Resource Advocates, an environmental nonprofit.
”When you think about a town of like 190,000 people springing up, and the additional water demands of that, that's not insignificant, especially in the West, where our water resources are already so constrained,” said Deborah Kapiloff, a policy advisor with the group. “Just about the one thing everyone in the West does agree on is that western communities need to find ways to do more with less water.”
Kapiloff said that’s why states should require data centers to report their water demands and use efficient practices, like reusing water or dry-cooling technologies.
The report recommends that states should only offer tax incentives to data centers that can prove they won’t impact area electricity bills, and are powered by renewable energy, like wind, solar or geothermal.
The group also noted the rising energy demands across the Mountain West are driving up greenhouse gas emissions for utilities. For example, in Nevada, NV Energy saw projected emissions in 2024 jump 53% from its 2022 estimates.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
