Daniel Cohan, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, told Newsweek that the environmental impact of data centers depends on three factors: total electricity demand, the type of generation used, and the speed of construction. Cohan said the largest facilities now being built are unprecedented in their grid demand, and that concentrated, rapid construction, before infrastructure has time to adapt, risks raising costs and jeopardizing power reliability. Yu-Feng F. Lin, a principal research hydrogeologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey and professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, added that water use is more complex than direct consumption figures suggest, noting that electricity-intensive cooling can shift water demand to power generation rather than eliminate it. Both experts cautioned that outcomes depend heavily on planning and policy choices.
The experts' framing separates the inherent characteristics of data centers from the consequences of how and where they are built, which has direct bearing on how regulators and utility planners should structure interconnection and siting reviews. The distinction between direct and indirect water use that Lin raises complicates standard environmental disclosures and could influence how water impact assessments are conducted for future projects.
Newsweek's broad explainer on data center environmental harms reaches a large general-audience readership, amplifying impact concerns beyond the industry press. While similar themes have appeared in trade publications, a Newsweek piece signals the issue's crossover into mainstream discourse.