arXiv:2411.09786cs.CY
Environmental Burden of United States Data Centers in the Artificial Intelligence Era
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Abstract
The rapid proliferation of data centers in the US - driven partly by the adoption of artificial intelligence - has set off alarm bells about the industry's environmental impact. We compiled detailed information on 2,132 US data centers operating between September 2023 and August 2024 and determined their electricity consumption, electricity sources, and attributable CO$_{2}$e emissions. Our findings reveal that data centers accounted for more than 4% of total US electricity consumption - with 56% derived from fossil fuels - generating more than 105 million tons of CO$_{2}$e (2.18% of US emissions in 2023). Data centers' carbon intensity - the amount of CO$_{2}$e emitted per unit of electricity consumed - exceeded the US average by 48%. Our data pipeline and visualization tools can be used to assess current and future environmental impacts of data centers.
The point that stood out to me as concerning was "The carbon intensity of electricity used by data centers was 48% higher than the US average." I'd be fine with as many data centers as they want if they stimulated production of clean energy to run them. But that quote links to…
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