To judge whether a proposed data center can be served responsibly, ask for its absolute peak electricity demand and annual energy use, its annual and maximum-day water demand, and written confirmation from the local utilities that the required capacity and infrastructure are available. Then check the assumptions, cooling design, upgrade costs, and monitoring commitments behind those figures. Efficiency scores such as PUE and WUE can help compare operations, but they cannot establish whether a particular grid or water system has room for a new facility.
Start with absolute demand, not an efficiency score
A credible proposal should report the scale of the facility’s demand in units that can be compared with utility and water-system plans. Request figures by construction or operating phase and at full build-out. Ask the developer to distinguish forecast normal operations from maximum design conditions, and to explain what assumptions produce each figure.
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- Electricity: expected peak demand in megawatts (MW), annual total energy in megawatt-hours (MWh) or gigawatt-hours (GWh), and IT power demand and annual IT energy separately.
- Water: annual water input and maximum-day demand, with potable and non-potable sources separated. Request cooling-tower make-up, blowdown, other facility uses, and wastewater discharge or reuse figures.
- Timing: identify whether each estimate describes initial operation, a particular phase, or full build-out, and whether it assumes average conditions or a hot, dry design period.
- Assumptions: ask for installed IT capacity, expected utilization and ramp-up, redundancy, operating hours, cooling configuration, and backup systems used in the forecast.
Peak demand and annual consumption answer different questions. Peak MW helps show the capacity the grid must serve at a given time; annual MWh or GWh describes energy consumed over a year. Neither can substitute for the other. Likewise, IT energy is narrower than total facility energy because the latter includes cooling, power conditioning, and other supporting loads.
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Efficiency ratios are meaningful only when their boundaries, periods, and measurement points are clear. Ask for the underlying absolute quantities as well as the ratio, and confirm that proposals being compared use consistent definitions.
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| Measure | What to request | What it cannot establish on its own |
|---|---|---|
| PUE | Facility-wide energy and IT equipment energy for the same reporting period, plus the facility boundary and measurement points. PUE compares total data-center energy with IT equipment energy. | Whether the grid can serve the facility, how much energy the facility will use in absolute terms, or who will pay for grid upgrades. |
| WUE | Water used at the stated site boundary divided by IT equipment energy for the stated period, commonly expressed in liters per kWh. Disclose the water numerator, IT-energy denominator, period, boundary, and potable-water share. | Whether local supplies can meet demand, whether water is available during a dry or peak-use period, or the facility’s total water consumption. |
A large facility can have a favorable ratio while still requiring substantial electricity or water. The European Commission’s Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 provides measurement categories for covered data centers, including total data-center energy, IT equipment energy, total water input at the data-center boundary, and potable-water input. Its reporting rules are not automatically applicable everywhere: check current application and amendments for the facility’s jurisdiction.
Will the local grid be able to serve it?
A statement that power has been “secured” is not, by itself, proof of physical capacity or reliable service. It could refer to a contract, a place in an interconnection queue, a planned project, or available capacity. Ask the developer and the utility or system planner to specify which, and request utility-backed evidence of the path from the proposed connection to dependable service.
Useful records and answers include:
- Load or interconnection studies and the capacity available for this project, including when that capacity is expected to be available.
- Required generation additions, transmission and distribution work, substation construction or expansion, and other system upgrades.
- Interconnection milestones, conditions for service, reliability requirements, and what happens if upgrades or generation are delayed.
- Whether the peak forecast reflects normal operations, a maximum design condition, or a particular project phase.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s “Clean Energy Resources to Meet Data Center Electricity Demand” discusses how large, regionally concentrated loads and the need for continuous firm power can affect grid planning. Its overview of potential responses—including generation, storage, efficiency, demand resources, and grid expansion—does not establish capacity or adequacy for a specific site. That requires local utility and system-planning evidence.
Find out who pays for project-driven infrastructure
Ask for a cost-allocation explanation covering new generation, transmission, substations, distribution equipment, and other upgrades attributable to the facility. Determine whether the project pays those costs directly, through a tariff or contribution, or through another arrangement, and whether any costs could fall on other customers. The answer depends on the governing jurisdiction and utility rules. Canada’s Responsible Data Centre Development Principles call for proponents to pay project-attributable service and infrastructure costs and for projects not to compromise reliability; these are Canadian policy principles, not a universal legal requirement.
Test claims about flexibility and backup resources
If a proposal cites batteries, on-site generation, demand response, or flexible computing to reduce grid impacts, request the operating details: capacity, duration, availability, dispatch conditions, and how the commitment will be monitored. Distinguish a tested resource that is contractually available to the grid from an intention or future possibility. A resource described as backup for the facility should not be assumed to provide grid support unless that service is specifically established.
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Can the water system supply the proposed demand?
Request absolute volumes and their sources, rather than accepting a water-efficiency ratio alone. A water-use forecast should make clear how much is needed each year and on the highest-demand day, when it will be used, and where it comes from.
- Separate municipal potable water from reclaimed water, groundwater, surface water, or other non-potable sources.
- Break out cooling make-up water, cooling-tower blowdown, other facility uses, and water discharged or reused.
- State whether amounts describe average weather, peak operations, a hot or dry design year, or a specific phase of build-out.
- Identify the water supplier or authority and provide confirmation of supply availability, relevant allocations or rights, and seasonal constraints.
Ask the supplier or water authority whether the proposed demand can be met during peak season, what drought restrictions could apply, and whether treatment, wastewater, and stormwater systems have the required capacity. Check the applicable water-supply, wastewater, and stormwater permits and the condition of the relevant watershed or aquifer. Canada’s Responsible Data Centre Development Principles call for minimizing freshwater use in light of local resource constraints and for transparent, measurable reporting; their geographic scope is Canada.
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Pennsylvania’s governor’s announcement about the GRID requirements describes reporting measures that include prior-calendar-year total water consumption and maximum-day demand. The announcement is not a substitute for the operative executive order, rules, or implementing instruments: check those before treating a measure as a binding obligation or applying it outside Pennsylvania.
How does cooling change the water and electricity picture?
Ask the proponent to name the heat-rejection system and estimate its electricity and water use under the site’s climate and workload assumptions. Cooling can shift demand between the facility and its electricity supply, so a comparison should show more than one resource measure.
| Cooling approach | Direct site-water consideration | Electricity consideration | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaporative cooling | Rejects heat through evaporation and needs make-up water. Cooling-tower blowdown may be required to manage dissolved minerals. | Demand depends on the system and operating conditions; no project-specific amount can be inferred from the cooling label alone. | Annual and peak-day water, potable share, blowdown, treatment, and performance during hot or dry conditions. |
| Dry cooling | Can reduce direct evaporative water use on site. | Can require more electricity than evaporative cooling. | Electricity forecast under local weather and workload, alongside any water used for other purposes. |
| Hybrid or economizer designs | Water use may vary with season, weather, and operating mode. | Electricity use may also vary with operating mode and conditions. | Mode-by-mode assumptions and annual and peak estimates across representative conditions. |
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), in “Cooling Water Efficiency Opportunities for Federal Data Centers,” describes practices including temperature and humidity control, hot- and cold-aisle management, air-side and water-side economizing, and cooling-tower management. Their results depend on climate, settings, equipment, and operating hours; general guidance is not a guaranteed saving for a proposed facility. FEMP also notes that side-stream filtration can help a fouled system return toward design performance, but filtration alone does not reduce water or power use unless cooling demand is also reduced.
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For a wider environmental comparison, note that electricity generation can consume water too. Do not add site water and power-sector water into one total unless the accounting method and boundaries make those quantities comparable. FEMP describes the tradeoff: dry cooling may lower direct on-site water use while increasing electricity demand, which can shift some water burden to electricity generation.
Compare options on the same terms
If the developer presents multiple sites, cooling systems, or operating plans, ask for the same measurements and forecast conditions for each. A useful comparison includes:
- Annual and peak electricity, including total facility and IT quantities.
- Annual and maximum-day water, potable-water share, source, and discharge or reuse.
- Local water constraints, seasonal availability, and drought resilience.
- Grid reliability, required infrastructure, upgrade timing, emissions and generation mix.
- Wastewater capacity, cost responsibility, and the enforceability and independent verifiability of commitments.
No single ratio resolves these tradeoffs. Compare forecasts under consistent assumptions and keep each impact visible rather than allowing an efficiency score to obscure absolute demand.
What should the project disclose and monitor?
For a review that can be checked over time, request the following in project documents and annual reporting commitments:
- Separate IT power demand, total facility peak demand, annual total energy, and annual IT energy, with units, phases, forecast conditions, and assumptions.
- Annual and maximum-day water input, potable and non-potable breakdowns, source categories, cooling use, and the measurement boundary.
- PUE and WUE definitions, measurement points, numerator and denominator, reporting period, and water-potability details.
- Cooling system and design conditions, weather assumptions, backup equipment, and sensitivity analysis for hot or dry periods.
- Utility confirmation of capacity, interconnection milestones, required upgrades, reliability conditions, and cost allocation.
- Water supplier confirmation, relevant allocations or rights, watershed or aquifer conditions, drought rules, wastewater and stormwater capacity, and permits.
- Monitoring methods and a commitment to publish data that can be independently verified.
These requests align with the EU regulation’s measurement and recordkeeping categories for covered facilities and with Canada’s principles calling for clear, project-appropriate, independently verifiable information. The legal status and scope of any disclosure obligation must be checked in the applicable jurisdiction.
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