References and Sources
References and Sources
Data center noise levels: Communities Are Raising Noise Pollution Concerns About Data Centers, Yañez-Barnuevo LINK
Data center heat emission: Data centers are creating ‘heat islands’ on land around them – warming them by up to 16 degrees, researchers warn, Fernández LINK
Hyperion data center electricity usage: Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is building a 5GW AI data center, Zeff LINK
AI will use more power than some countries: AI to double data centre power and water consumption by 2030, Reuters LINK
Theory that power generation will match data center usage: IEA Energy and AI Executive Summary LINK
Theory that computers would use half of all power in the 90s: Dig more coal -- the PCs are coming, Huber LINK
Palm pilot energy use: Got a Computer? More Power To You: Mills/Huber Op-ed in Wall Street Journal LINK
US electricity demand projections: US electricity demand: by sector, by use, over time, Thunder Said Energy LINK
1990s data center actual electricity consumption: Data center energy use: truth versus myth, Chen LINK
Current data center energy usage numbers: 2024 United States Data Center Energy
Usage Report, Shehabi et. al. LINK
Efficiency of computing over time: Implications of Historical Trends in the Electrical Efficiency of Computing, Koomey et. al., LINK
Colossus GPU use nears 700,000: Elon Musk plans to expand Colossus AI supercomputer tenfold, Morales LINK
Average U.S. home power use: How much electricity does an American home use, EIA LINK
Hyperscale data center definition: Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption:
Frequently Asked Questions, Congressional Research Service LINK
US Data Center tracker: Track data centers and power projects from the first permit to final completion, Cleanview LINK
US Data Center impact across industries, plus map: AI Data Centers: Big Tech's Impact on Electric Bills, Water, and More, Consumer Reports LINK
US Electric Power annual usage table by industry: Electric Power Annual, EIA LINK
Data center 2025 energy use: 2025 U.S. Data Center Usage Berkeley Lab Update, Smith et. al. LINK
Data center energy usage predictions by calculating organization: Data Centre Energy Use:
Critical Review of Models and Results, EDNA LINK
2028 Data center energy use prediction: U.S. economy hits pivotal milestone: Spending on data centers and other information-processing hardware now exceeds housing investment, Ma LINK
The Jevon’s Paradox and AI: What is Jevons Paradox? And why it may — or may not — predict AI’s future, Moulton LINK
Data centers raising energy prices: Rising bills and emissions from data centers, Kimathi LINK
Behind-the-meter data centers: Bypassing the Grid: How Data Center Developers Are Building Their Own Power Plants, Thomas LINK
Texas Amazon data centers and pollution: New Amazon Data Center Stokes Worry It Would Be the Most Polluting Plant in the US, NYT LINK
Google’s Crusoe data center and pollution: Google to tap into gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals, Kerr LINK
U.S. sources of greenhouse gas emissions: Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, EPA LINK
Projections of 44 megatons of emissions by 2030: Environmental impact and net-zero pathways for sustainable artificial intelligence servers in the USA, Xiao et. al. LINK
Emissions of fuel-burning cars per year in U.S.: ‘Roadmap’ shows the environmental impact of AI data center boom, Nutt LINK
U.S. Data centers natural gas consumption projections: US data centers could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035, De Chant LINK
Do AI queries use one bottle of water: Does a single AI query use a bottle of water, Connolly LINK
U.S. data center water usage per day: America’s Data Center Boom Puts New Pressure on Local Water Resources, Moore LINK
Almond farm water usage: California Almond Water Usage: Updated, C-Win LINK
Golf course water usage: Golf courses reduce water usage by 31 percent according to national survey, Hartmann LINK
Data centers using 17 billion gallons of water in 2023: America’s Data Center Boom Puts New Pressure on Local Water Resources, Moore LINK
Data centers use 228 billion gallons of water with energy generation factored in, 840 billion gallons in the future: How much water does AI really use, Kelly et. al LINK
NYC’s annual drinking water use: New York City Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report 2024, NYC Environmental Protection LINK
Chicago’s annual water use: Water Management, City of Chicago LINK
Crusoe data center’s 8 million gallon initial fill-up: An inside look at the Abilene AI data center, LINK
Lack of transparency around Texas data center usage: Questions about electricity, water use swirl around Stargate data center in Abilene, Erdrich LINK
Texas data center water usage and Abilene annual water usage: Data centers are thirsty for Texas’ water, but state planners don’t know how much they will need, Martinez LINK
Phoenix data centers use 385 million gallons of water annually: AI Data Centers: Big Tech's Impact on Electric Bills, Water, and More, Greenfield LINK
Colorado river has lost about 25% of its flow: How drought and demand pushed the Colorado River toward crisis, Hartman and Hay LINK
Colossus data center using 35 gas turbines: ‘We Are the Last of the Forgotten:’ Inside the Memphis Community Battling Elon Musk’s xAI, Chow LINK
Colossus data center only permitted for 15 turbines: A billionaire, an AI supercomputer, toxic emissions and a Memphis community that did nothing wrong, Brabenec LINK
Data center pollution could cause 1,300 deaths: AI’s deadly air pollution toll, Danelski LINK
Memphis air pollution from data centers: University of Memphis study details air pollutants from SpaceXAI in southwest Memphis, ABC/24 LINK
Shell companies masking data center projects in Texas: Texas Judges Back Enchanted Rock Bridge-to-Power Project, With a Catch, Wood LINK
Breakdown of NDA usage in Texas data center boom: While data centers boom in Texas, their plans stay shrouded in secrecy, Goldenstein and Foxhall LINK
The link between shell companies and data center builds: Shell companies and NDAs: How AI data center developers keep land deals secret, Staley LINK
Pine Island data center NDAs: Nondisclosure agreements could become no-nos for municipalities, Cook LINK
Loudoun County, Virginia tax revenue from data centers: What communities have actually won — and lost, AI GridWatch LINK
38 states provide tax break for data centers: Does Your State Offer Data Center Tax Incentives?, Miller LINK