Key Points
Tech giant Meta, ET reported in April, would open its first data centre in India on a 10-acre campus in Chennai..
But as data centres in India grow in number and capacity, it is likely that it will have to grapple with an important question: will its cities, which are already water-stressed, be able to support this scorching pace of growth of a sector considered to be water-guzzling?..
In a 2021 report by industry body Nasscom, titled, India: The Next Data Center Hub, water shortage was cited as a high-risk factor for data centres in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi, and moderate-to-high risk for Mumbai...
With increased deployment of AI, where processing requirements are much higher and the heat load will proportionally go up, the use case for liquid cooling would strengthen.. However, Sachin Bhalla, VPsecure power, Greater India, Schneider Electric, which provides cooling solutions to data centres, says the switch to liquid cooling would not be simple..
Locating data centres in areas with ample water supply or access to non-potable water sources, developing and enforcing regulations to ensure sustainable water usage practices, including mandatory recycling and limits on groundwater extraction, he says, can help manage the water footprint of data centres and alleviate any pressure on water-stressed cities..
