Data centers can add pressure to electricity systems, consume water for cooling, and contribute to air pollution through grid power or onsite generators. But the effect on a nearby household, water supply, or neighborhood is not automatic: it depends on local utility rules, cooling design, water sources, power generation, permits, and how the facility operates.
How large is data-center electricity demand?
U.S. data-center electricity use is growing, but forecasts depend on assumptions about equipment shipments, computing demand, cooling efficiency, and where facilities are built. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s June 2026 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update gives a 2030 reference case and a broad uncertainty range rather than a guaranteed outcome.
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| Measure | Estimate | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. data-center electricity use in 2023 | 176 TWh, about 4.4% of U.S. electricity | Historical estimate summarized by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2024; not a 2030 forecast. |
| U.S. data-center electricity use in 2030 | 649 TWh reference case; 521–843 TWh compounded uncertainty range | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s June 2026 modeled projection, based on equipment, cooling, and facility assumptions. The range reflects uncertainty; it is not a prediction that use will land at either endpoint. |
The 2023 figure and 2030 projection answer different questions: one estimates historical use, while the other models possible future demand. Neither alone shows what a particular utility must build or what customers in a specific service area will pay.
Do data centers make electricity bills go up?
They can contribute to costs that affect other customers, but there is no fixed surcharge that applies to every household near a data center. The facility pays under its tariff or contract; household bills are shaped by the utility’s generation, transmission and distribution costs, financing, load forecasts, and regulatory decisions.
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A large new load may lead a utility to seek investment in power supply or grid infrastructure. Whether other customers bear any of those costs depends on local rate design, contract terms, regulator decisions, forecast accuracy, and whether new assets are used. The U.S. Department of Energy’s January 17, 2025 large-load rate-design brief identifies fair cost allocation, limiting stranded utility investment, resource adequacy, and risk-sharing as issues for utilities and regulators. It does not establish a measured bill increase for any particular community.
For a claim about a named facility, look for the serving utility’s rate filing and large-load tariff, relevant commission orders, any public special contract, and utility forecasts or infrastructure plans. Without those records, a claim that a data center raised local bills—or that it will pay all associated costs—goes beyond what national evidence can show.
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How much water does a data center use?
There are two distinct categories: water consumed onsite, often for cooling, and water consumed elsewhere to generate the electricity the facility uses. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 2024 U.S. report estimated both for 2023; the indirect estimate is not water used beside the server building.
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|---|---|---|
| Direct consumption | 66 billion liters | Data-center site water, primarily associated with cooling, estimated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in its 2024 report. |
| Indirect consumption | Nearly 800 billion liters | Water consumed in electricity generation for data-center electricity, estimated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2024 using regional grid mixes; it occurs at power plants, not necessarily near data centers. |
These are national estimates with different boundaries and should not be added or treated as a measurement of any individual facility. The report does not establish a particular operator’s municipal supply, potable-water share, seasonal peak, or watershed stress.
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Withdrawal is not the same as consumption
A withdrawal is water taken from a source. Consumption is the portion not promptly returned to the same local water system, commonly because it evaporates. A facility can withdraw more water than it consumes, so figures using one measure should not be compared directly with figures using the other.
Cooling design changes direct water use
Cooling towers use water through evaporation. Airside economizers and dry cooling can reduce onsite water consumption in suitable conditions, although cooling choices can involve trade-offs in electricity efficiency. Low onsite water use by itself does not show that a facility has a lower total water impact: the water used to generate its electricity may be elsewhere in the system.
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Do data centers use drinking water?
Some facilities may use municipal potable water, while others may rely partly or wholly on non-potable sources; the national estimates above do not identify an individual facility’s source. To determine whether a local data center uses drinking water, check facility disclosures and water-provider or municipal records for the source, volume, seasonal use, and whether the reported quantity is withdrawal or consumption.
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Do data centers cause air pollution?
Potential emissions come from two places: power plants supplying grid electricity and combustion equipment onsite, such as diesel backup generators. Their consequences differ. Greenhouse-gas emissions reported as carbon-dioxide equivalent are a climate metric; pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and fine particles can affect local air quality.
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- INSTALLS IN CIRCUIT PANEL of most homes with clamp-on sensors. Supports Single phase, Single-split phase, and 2-wire systems. 3-wire systems; 3-phase, 4-wire Wye systems with earthed (TN or TT) neutral (no-Delta) are supported with an additional 200A sensor (sold separately).
- 24/7 ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING: Automate, manage and control your home's real power anywhere, anytime to prevent costly repairs, conserve energy, and save costs. Monitor solar / net metering. PROTECTED BY A 1-YEAR WARRANTY.
- LOWER YOUR ELECTRIC BILL: Configure settings in the Emporia Energy App to automate energy management for time of use, peak demand, excess solar, and rewards programs. You can even see live reporting and invaluable savings opportunities instantly. Gauge real-time spending and get actionable notifications and automated energy management to help you reduce costs.
- REAL-TIME ENERGY DATA: REQUIRES 2.4 GHz WIFI WITH AN INTERNET CONNECTION to monitor energy use with iPhone / Android / Web app. Vue sensors collect energy data and are accurate from ±2%. The Vue is UL and CE Listed for your safety. 1 second data is only available in the app (when actively open) and retained 3 hours. Minute and hour data are retained in the cloud. 1 minute data is retained 7 days, 1 hour data is retained indefinitely. Export cloud data whenever you want in the app.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 2024 report estimated national-average indirect emissions of 0.34 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh of data-center electricity under its regional grid-mix method. It also estimated indirect water consumption of 4.52 L/kWh under that method. These are national-average intensities attributed to data-center electricity use, not measurements of a particular facility’s hourly power supply or local exposure. The report assigns counties to balancing authorities and does not incorporate individual power-purchase agreements or behind-the-meter generation because facility data were unavailable. It notes that generation location, fuel, and technology change the water and emissions associated with electricity.
Onsite generators can emit closer to residents than emissions from large centralized plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains that distributed-generation combustion can create air pollution nearer to populated areas, even when the sources are smaller in scale than large power plants. Actual exposure depends on engine and fuel type, operating hours, emissions controls, weather, local geography, and permitting. A permit’s allowable operation is not the same as a record of actual operation.
EPA’s July 27, 2026 announcement describes its interpretation that the Acid Rain Program does not apply to generation facilities that are not connected to a public grid (“islanded” generation); EPA says a facility that later connects to the grid may become subject to program provisions. This is a limited statement about that program, not an exemption from every air-pollution requirement or permit. Applicable rules depend on the facility and should be checked against current permits and governing requirements.
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National averages explain mechanisms and scale; local records are needed to attribute costs or impacts to a particular facility. Start by identifying the facility, its electric utility, its water provider, and the relevant air regulators. Then compare the records below rather than relying on a single headline number.
- Electricity and bills: review the utility’s large-load tariff, rate filings, commission orders, public project contracts, and plans for generation, transmission, and distribution. Check who is responsible for new costs and how the utility forecasts the load.
- Water: seek facility water disclosures and municipal or water-utility records. Compare withdrawal and consumption, water source, cooling method, potable versus non-potable supply, seasonal demand, and local availability or drought conditions.
- Air: review air permits, generator and fuel specifications, emissions controls, permitted operating hours, and available testing or operating records. Nearby monitoring data, wind patterns, and geography help assess potential exposure.
- Electricity-related emissions and water: use EPA’s eGRID resources for regional generation mix and power-sector emissions context. EPA’s Power Profiler can identify an eGRID subregion for a ZIP code and estimate electricity-related emissions, but regional factors do not prove the marginal source serving one facility at a particular hour.
For two projects, compare like with like: projected and actual peak and annual electricity demand; tariff and infrastructure cost protections; direct water withdrawal and consumption by source and season; cooling design; regional generation mix; generator type, controls, and actual operating hours; and the quality of public disclosure and independent monitoring. If comparable data are missing, the comparison cannot support a confident ranking.
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