Concerns Rise Over Water and Energy Use with Expansion of Data Centres in India

The coastal district of Visakhapatnam, located in Andhra Pradesh, is on the brink of a significant transformation with the recent initiation of a major data centre project. On April 28, the foundation stone for a massive data centre operated by Google was laid in Tarluvada, a village in the Vizag region. This facility is poised to become the largest of its kind for the tech giant outside of the United States. The data centre forms a crucial part of an Artificial Intelligence Hub that was unveiled by Google last October.

The Andhra Pradesh government has earmarked an extensive 480 acres of land across the Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts for this ambitious project. However, these developments have stirred a wave of concern among environmentalists and legal experts regarding the implications of such large-scale infrastructure on water and energy resources. Activists argue that the demand for these resources should categorize data centres as distinct infrastructure projects, necessitating thorough environmental clearance processes due to their substantial resource consumption.

Experts in the field are increasingly advocating for a well-defined national policy governing data centres in India. Despite the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology releasing a draft policy back in 2020, there have been no significant updates or a conclusive framework introduced since then. This lack of clear guidelines raises concerns about the sustainability of data centres and their long-term impact on local environments and communities.

In addition to Google’s efforts, Reliance Industries Ltd has also announced its plans to establish a 1.5-gigawatt data centre cluster in Vizag, further contributing to the region’s burgeoning tech landscape. The Andhra Pradesh government aims to develop a staggering 6.5 gigawatts of compute capacity within the next few years, indicating a rapid increase in digital infrastructure.

Data centres are known to have high water usage, primarily for cooling their systems. For instance, Google reportedly consumes around 31 billion litres of water annually across its global operations. As more companies seek to establish data centres in India, the pressing questions surrounding water and energy conservation are likely to become even more crucial. The ongoing expansion in this sector thus prompts a critical dialogue about how India can balance technological advancement with environmental responsibility.

Source: scroll.in