Water, Energy, and the Digital Economy: Emerging Challenges of Data Centers and Infrastructure in a Changing Climate
Water, Energy, and the Digital Economy: Emerging Challenges of Data Centers and Infrastructure in a Changing Climate
Session ID#: 282128
Session Description:
The rapid growth of data centers and digital infrastructure is transforming regional water and energy systems, particularly in water-limited and climate-sensitive regions. While energy demands are relatively well studied, the direct and indirect water use along with broader system impacts remain poorly understood. This session examines the water-energy-digital infrastructure nexus, using data centers as an anchor while inviting broader perspectives on the suitability of related infrastructure for supporting energy and water systems.
We welcome contributions that quantify water use, assess interactions with energy systems, and evaluate impacts under climate variability and extremes. Topics include cooling technologies, alternative water sources and reuse, watershed-scale and cumulative impacts, renewable integration, data center siting and infrastructure planning, lifecycle water and energy footprints, and policy and governance challenges.
This session aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue across hydrology, climate science, energy systems, AI, and policy to advance sustainable and resilient infrastructure planning.
Co-Sponsor(s):
- A - Atmospheric Sciences
- GC - Global Environmental Change
Index Terms:
1833 Hydroclimatology [HYDROLOGY]
1878 Water/energy interactions [HYDROLOGY]
1880 Water management [HYDROLOGY]
1884 Water supply [HYDROLOGY]
Primary Convener: Yonas Demissie, Washington State University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pullman, WA, United States
Conveners: Amobichukwu Amanambu, University of Alabama, Department of Geography and the Environment, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States and Nathalie Voisin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States
See more of: Hydrology