Systems Emerging to Balance Data Center Environmental Impacts

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2026 – Challenges arising from rapid AI data center growth are widely misunderstood, panelists said Tuesday at Data Center World.

Hyperscale AI clusters now require 10 to 20 times more power per site, pushing campuses that once ran at 50 to 100 megawatts toward one gigawatt. That expansion is colliding with grid constraints, public scrutiny over water use, and a tightening labor market.

William Hassel , sustainability program manager at Turner Construction, said data centers are increasingly integrated into grid operations. “Data centers are actually helping enable the grid,” Hassel said, pointing to aging transmission infrastructure.

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