물과 전력의 관계 : 데이터센터가 미국의 수도 정세를 재구축하는 구조

The artificial intelligence-driven data center boom is rapidly reshaping the U.S. water landscape-driven by the demand for on-site cooling and the substantial water consumption associated with the electricity needed to operate hyperscale facilities. As new data centers come online at an unprecedented rate, this growth shifts water-related risks upstream to the power sector, where thermoelectric generation remains one of the largest and most vulnerable sources of industrial water demand.

This shift is occurring at a critical moment. After years of declining water withdrawals in the power sector because of efficiency gains and the retirement of coal plants, the forecasted spike in electricity demand from data centers disrupts long-term trends in water management. In many regions across the country, water availability, discharge regulations, and cooling technology options are increasingly important in power planning.

The situation is particularly consequential because it exacerbates water risks in areas already under constraints. These areas confront challenges such as increasing drought risk, permitting scrutiny, and competing demands from municipalities and industries-all of which affect long-term water planning. While power generators minimize withdrawals through technology upgrades and closed-loop cooling systems, concerns about water consumption and quality remain critical. A lower withdrawal rate does not necessarily mean a reduced impact on water resources. As data center-driven power generation increases, water availability is becoming a crucial factor influencing the operation of power assets, the development of new projects, and the prioritization of investments in treatment, reuse, and monitoring solutions.

This Insight Report analyzes how the electricity demand generated by data centers is affecting water use across the U.S. thermoelectric generation fleet. Bluefield forecasts water consumption developments within the power sector based on evolving generation needs and fuel mix scenarios; it identifies where water impacts will be concentrated-and where utilities and solution providers can implement new strategies, infrastructure, and services to address long-term water demand.

Companies Mentioned

• ADM
• AES Water Solutions
• Aligned Data Centers
• Alliant Energy
• Ameren
• American Electric Power
• Anthropic
• Applied Digital
• Arclight
• AWS
• Babcock & Wilcox
• Bank of America
• Berkshire Hathaway
• Blackstone Energy Partners
• Blue Energy
• Compass Data Centers
• Constellation Energy
• CoreSite
• CoreWeave
• Crusoe & Tallgrass
• CyrusOne
• DataBank
• Digital Realty
• Dominion Energy
• EdgeCore
• Edison International
• EDP
• Energy Capital Partners
• Equinix
• Essential Utilities
• ExxonMobil
• Fortis
• Google
• Gulf Pacific Power
• Homer City Redevelopment
• Iberdrola
• International Electric Power III
• Invenergy
• Kentucky Utilities
• KeyCon Operating
• Kiewit Corporation
• LandBridge
• LG&E
• LLC
• Luminant
• Meta
• Microsoft
• Nebius
• Nextera Energy
• NiSource
• NRG
• NTT DATA
• ODEC
• Oglethorpe Power
• OpenAI
• Oracle
• OVEC-IKEC
• PA Data Center Partners
• Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Pacifico Energy
• Pinnacle West Capital
• PowerHouse and Provident
• PPL Electric
• QTS Data Centers
• Rowan Digital Infrastructure
• RWE
• Southern Company
• SRP
• Stack Infrastructure
• Stream Data Centers
• Talen Energy
• Tenaska
• Texas Critical Data Centers
• USCE
• Vantage Data Centers
• Verizon
• Vistra
• xAI
• Xcel Energy

Table of Contents

Section 1 - Defining the U.S. Data Center Power Landscape

• Data Centers' Power Use Comprises Majority of Their Water Footprint
• Market Disruption Scaling Power Needs Put Greater Focus on Water
• AI Boom Increases Demand for Electricity
• Hyperscale Power Consumption from Data Centers Jumps
• Data Center Market Transitions over Time
• Data Center Pipeline Underpins Water and Power Impacts
• Current Data Center Capacity Highlights Key Hot Spots
• Emerging Trend of AI Giga Factories Pushing Limits of the Grid
• Emerging Trend AI Giga Factories: Additional Information

Section 2 - The Data Center Disruption: The Impact on the Power Sector

• Demand Increase to Disrupt Power Sector's Declining Water Use
• Fuel Mix Projection Altered Amid Data Center Power Demand Spike
• Water Use Efficiency for Natural Gas Generation Improves Over Time
• Closed Loop Adoption Trade-Offs Amid Power Plant Cooling Systems
• Power Generation Trend Timelines Resulting from the Data Center Boom
• Data Centers' Near-Term Impact on the Power Sector's Water Footprint
• Data Centers Leverage Nuclear as a Carbon-Free Power Source
• Data Centers Push for New Natural Gas Plants
• Looking Forward - Key Market Variables & Barriers to Watch

Section 3 - State Profiles: Power Generation and Data Center Activity

• Research Methodology
• Ranking Leading Data Center States: Power & Water Attractiveness
• Bluefield's Data Center Index Weighs Power & Water Risk
• Texas
• Virginia
• Pennsylvania
• Arizona
• Ohio
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• California