Locating Infrastructure: Energy, Water, and the Societal Footprint of U.S. Data Centers

This project explores how the explosive growth of data centers is reshaping energy and water systems, land use patterns, and local governance in the United States. Researchers will conduct a comparative analysis of data center siting in both mature and emerging markets in Northern Virginia and the Chicago region. By combining spatial modeling, empirical data, and institutional analysis, the team seeks to uncover the infrastructural and environmental dependencies that influence where and how data centers are built.

A key focus of the study is the dual water footprint of data centers: direct consumption for cooling and indirect use via electricity generation. This dual-pathway analysis is timely and novel, especially as growing AI workloads intensify energy demands and water stress across regions. The project highlights how efforts to optimize energy use may inadvertently raise water consumption, creating trade-offs that require deeper scrutiny. It also addresses often-overlooked risks from wastewater, stormwater, and seasonal water storage, offering a systems-level perspective on emerging vulnerabilities. The findings will inform policy recommendations for local and regional governments, utilities, and planners managing the environmental and social consequences of large-scale data infrastructure.