As the number of data centers both nationwide and here in Wood County continues to grow, large amounts of water, electricity and land are being used amid a lack of government regulation, several Bowling Green State University (BGSU) experts said.
Zach Hayes, BGSU’s sustainability coordinator, said that artificial intelligence (AI) is growing so fast that statistics from last fall are already outdated.
According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the number of United States (U.S.) data centers more than doubled from 2018 to 2021, and doubled again by 2025.
The U.S. has the most data centers in the world, with 4,088 centers, according to the Data Center Map database. The United Kingdom has the second most data centers, with 509 centers.
Within the U.S., the 579 data centers in Virginia make it the state with the highest number of data centers, meaning there are more centers in this state alone than in any other country in the world. Ohio ranks sixth in the U.S. with 201 centers, which would place it twelfth in the world, just behind Brazil, which has 204 centers.
Mid-sized data centers can use up to 110 million gallons of water per year, and one conversation with a chat bot like ChatGPT with 20 to 50 energy queries uses roughly half a liter of fresh water.
U.S. data centers are also using 4.4% of total U.S. power energy, and about 56% of the electricity used to power data centers in the country comes from fossil fuels. Additionally, the U.S. is using 176 trillion-watt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to power 16 million homes.
Competition for land for data centers is also growing and typically utilizes agricultural and rural lands. Hayes said data centers should be built in places like cities rather than on farmland, where there is more supportive infrastructure like old factories, water pipes or rooftop solar panels to generate electricity.
“In a nutshell, AI is causing an increased strain on the environment,” said Hayes.
Andrew Kear, a BGSU professor who teaches environmental policy and sustainability, said there isn’t much governmental regulation on how much water and energy data centers can use or where they can be built.
“The speed with which these data centers are going up and the lack of effective regulation protecting property, protecting air, protecting water, is quite frankly disturbing,” said Kear.
Additionally, Kear said that he expects users might need to pay to use AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, in the future if companies choose to begin monetizing their systems. He also noted that AI can cause social harm when people use it to manipulate pictures, videos or audio clips to spread disinformation.
“Letting it [AI] go unfettered and unchecked, we’re going to have a lot of problems. And we’re just starting to see it,” said Kear.
