Voters approve 40 AI data center restrictions amid water-use disputes
Voters in 41 states passed ballot measures this week to limit new AI data centers, citing concerns over water and power consumption. Experts say calculating exact resource use is difficult because operators report companywide figures, not site-specific data. A 1-gigawatt AI data center can consume up to 10 million gallons of water daily, according to UC Riverside professor Shaolei Ren, depending…
Key points
- Voters in 40 of 41 states approved ballot measures to restrict AI data centers over water and power concerns
- AI data centers can use up to 10 million gallons of water daily, depending on cooling methods and location
- Companies like Meta and SpaceX claim minimal water use but face local water allocation disputes
Companies like Meta and SpaceX claim their facilities use minimal water, but local water allocations often exceed their stated peak usage. Meta’s 1-gigawatt Indiana data center, for example, may require up to 8 million gallons daily in extreme heat. Tech firms are investing in water treatment plants—Meta spent $100 million in Idaho—to recycle water, but challenges persist. Meanwhile, chipmakers like DeepX and SK Hynix are developing cooler processors to reduce cooling demands.
Voters rejected AI data centers over resource concerns. Here's why measuring water usage is hard
CNBC Technology · 5 November 2026
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