Home

New WRA Report on Data Center Boom Finds Western States Need Strong Policies to Meet Energy and Water Demands

via Business Wire

Western Resource Advocates today released a report on the energy and water impacts of data centers across the Interior West in the next 10 years that urges utilities, regulators and elected leaders to evaluate and adopt policies that advance clean energy, protect electricity customers and mitigate impacts on water resources.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250723018953/en/

Major electric utilities in the Interior West — where WRA works to transition the power sector to clean energy — are collectively forecasting a massive increase in energy demand of more than 50% in the next decade alone. The growth projected in just the next five years surpasses the current system of electricity production – that took a century or more to build.

“The expansion of AI and other technologies has created a rush to build data centers so that we now need to rapidly expand our energy grid on a massive scale. We are on the cusp of monumental change, and we can’t afford to get this wrong,” said Deborah Kapiloff, policy advisor at WRA. “Without proactive regulation, there is a risk residential customers will be on the hook for higher energy bills, and the progress we’ve made towards reducing pollution from burning fossil fuels could be lost.”

Data centers require massive amounts of energy — for computing and cooling to protect the computer hardware contained within. If the projections of data center load growth from the region’s major utilities become reality, these new facilities in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah could have annual water use of 21,600 acre-feet (7 billion gallons) by 2035. This amount of water serves the annual needs of up to 194,000 people.

In WRA’s new report — Data Center Impacts in the West: Policy Solutions for Water and Energy Use — experts from WRA present a summary of the electricity load forecast for data centers in the region along with the potential water impacts. Robust regulatory policies can protect customers, ensure water resources are conserved and spur investment in clean, innovative technologies. This report’s key recommendations are focused on three main categories: advancing clean energy, preserving scarce water resources, and protecting electricity customers.

“Decision makers must respond to the immediate challenge of meeting data centers’ burgeoning energy and water demands, while also building policies that ensure data centers accelerate progress toward energy, water and climate goals over the long term,” added Kapiloff. “With smart policy solutions, there are opportunities to develop data centers responsibly, powering them with renewable resources and sustainable water use. Now is the time to get it right.”

WRA is a regional nonprofit fighting climate change and its impacts to sustain the environment, economy, and people of the West. The organization is driving state action to advance policies that create a healthier and more equitable future for all communities. As the go-to experts for more than three decades, WRA’s work deploys clean energy and protects air, land, water and wildlife. WesternResourceAdvocates.org.

WRA’s latest report details the load forecasts of utilities in the West due to data center growth & gives policy recommendations designed to advance the transition to clean energy, safeguard water supplies & protect the interests of electricity customers.

Contacts