Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Data center construction creates a resource shock
AI-driven data center growth is creating a hidden but significant strain on water, power and materials.
June 2026
Key takeaways
- AI's water footprint is a substantial resource drain. Up to 75% of a data center's total water use happens off-site, largely through electricity generation rather than on-campus cooling. At scale, even small AI interactions add up: millions of liters of water per day are indirectly tied to routine AI use, according to BofA Global Research.
- Electricity demand from graphics processing unit-based servers is growing at roughly 30% per year, driven increasingly by AI inference. This shift stresses local grids, where the challenge is no longer total energy supply but the ability to deliver firm, continuous power at the right location.
- Each incremental megawatt of data center capacity embeds roughly 60-75 tons of metals, particularly copper, according to BofA Global Research. As data centers scale, they steadily pull on water, power, and materials that local infrastructure was never designed to supply at this pace, intensifying pressure on already-constrained regions.
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