Microsoft says its data centers use 90% less water than their original facilities as public concerns grow – GeekWire
Microsoft announced on Wednesday that over the past two decades, it has become more efficient in using water to cool its data centers, reducing its use by 90% compared to the levels when it opened its first facilities in the early 2000s. The company used 0.27 liters per kilowatt-hour last year, three times better than the industry average.
Microsoft has also met its 2030 goal of being water-neutral in all of its operations, which means it is replenishing more fresh water around the world than it uses.
And if this sounds familiar, you’re not wrong. Earlier this month, Amazon shared similar water usage figures (albeit with better performance) and Google came out with updated water-free promises.
Tech giants are working to quell concerns over water use, which has become a major issue across the country. Communities and local leaders protested and passed proclamations to stop the construction of the new data center. Other concerns include significant power consumption that may increase utility levels and noise complaints.
At the beginning of the year, Microsoft tried to overcome those fears by introducing its Public Infrastructure-First AI program, in which it pledged to cover its electricity costs and give up local tax breaks. Last week, it came out in support of the Taxpayer Protection Act, a congressional measure that addresses the implications of the data center bill, although it previously opposed Washington state legislation that focuses on some of the same concerns.
Microsoft remains “deeply committed” to water protection, said Judy Priest, CTO of Cloud Operations & Innovation, and Steve Solomon, vice president of Datacenter Engineering, in a blog post on Wednesday.
“We continue to advance datacenter innovations that reduce energy consumption while supporting the growing performance needs of cloud services and AI,” said Pristi and Solomon.
Data centers use a variety of techniques to keep electrical equipment cool, including fans, evaporative cooling, air cooling and direct liquid cooling. The methods involve a trade-off: air conditioning draws more electricity but saves water, while evaporative cooling uses less energy but consumes more.
Microsoft’s ways to limit its water use include:
- Cooling is primarily by fans, supplemented by evaporative cooling when outside temperatures exceed 85 degrees.
- Using chip-level cooling that returns water to the system.
- Inspecting data centers to ensure that facilities are operating as designed and conserve water properly.
- Expanding their use of recycled, reused or non-potable water.
Comparing companies in this industry is complicated. Microsoft’s calculation of liters per kilowatt hour only applies to data centers it owns, while Amazon includes both its own computing and leased facilities.
And while Microsoft has already reached its 2020 water goal within the decade, it takes a global measure of water use and refilling. In theory, that means that water use in a desert climate can be solved by Microsoft’s actions in a wet environment.
The Community-First AI Infrastructure program, however, promises to replenish more water than it uses in each region where it operates. That’s consistent with the approach used by Amazon and Google, although Amazon’s filing target includes only data centers, not all of its operations.
While concerns about data center water consumption are growing, they remain modest in the broader context: data centers account for about 0.5% of all industrial consumption worldwide, as Amazon recently noted.
In terms of total volume, Microsoft released 2.7 billion gallons of water in fiscal year 2024 across its data centers and other operations. For context, Seattle Public Utilities delivers approximately 43 billion gallons each year to 1.6 million people in its service area.
