European officials are urging a slowdown in the construction of new data centers due to concerns about escalating energy and water consumption. The continent's IT infrastructure currently uses 10 GW of power, a figure projected to surge to 35 GW by 2030, potentially accounting for up to 9% of total electricity usage. This growth is straining resources, as cooling systems alone consume a significant portion of energy and water, with some hyperscale facilities requiring daily water volumes equivalent to that of 155,000 households. AI
IMPACT Accelerated AI development may exacerbate data center resource strain, prompting policy interventions and potentially impacting cloud infrastructure costs.
RANK_REASON The cluster discusses a significant policy concern regarding infrastructure growth and resource strain across a major region. [lever_c_demoted from significant: ic=1 ai=0.7]
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