This AI data centre promised no Colorado River water. Now it wants 260mn gallons
A developer is suing for access to Colorado River water for a massive AI data center in Southern California, despite earlier promises not to use the resource. This has sparked significant local opposition due to ongoing drought conditions and water scarcity in the region.
Why it matters
It illustrates the growing conflict between the resource-intensive demands of AI infrastructure and the environmental needs of local communities.
The AI boom is spreading data centres across the world faster than most tech projects. These AI lifelines work on two important resources, water and electricity, which they use from the areas they are located in. Often this leads to a fight between the locals and the tech giant owning the data centre since resources are limited and want is not.Case in point is an AI data centre being built in Southern California's Imperial Valley. Deemed as the largest AI data centre in the state, the 330-megawatt unit earlier promised to not use water from Colorado River. But now, the developer behind the project is suing for access to the river water which is already a threatened source of freshwater for 40 million people and the centre of countless disputes over water use in West.
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