UN report projects surge in AI data center resource use (opens in new tab)

Data centers are expected to roughly double their power and water use by 2030 as artificial intelligence workloads expand, according to a United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health report released Wednesday. The report estimated that global data centers used 448 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, consumed 4.5 trillion liters of water tied to electricity generation and produced 189 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. By 2030, it projected power use at about 93...