Sustainable Cooling of Data Centres in India

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology; Environment

Context

• Following sustained protests from civil society groups, Google has said that its planned 1-GW data centre in Visakhapatnam district will use air-cooling technology to cool its servers. 

Data Centres in India

• Data centre capacity in India has nearly tripled from 520 megawatts in 2020 to nearly 1.5 gigawatts today. 
• By 2030, it is projected to hit 6.5 GW, which is a fourfold expansion in just four years. 
• Electricity demand from these facilities is expected to rise from about 13 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024 to roughly 57 TWh by 2030. 
  • The Union Ministry of Power estimates that artificial intelligence alone will add 26.3 gigawatts of new demand by 2031-32.
• Most data centres are clustered around existing tech hubs of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and the National Capital Region. These are precisely the places where water and grid stress are already most acute.

Why are Data Centres Water-Intensive?

• Data centres generate enormous amounts of heat due to the continuous operation of servers and computing equipment.
  • A 1-GW data centre will in principle produce 1 GW of heat. 

• Cooling systems are therefore essential to maintain optimal operating temperatures. It alone accounts for around 30–40% of a data centre’s energy consumption.
• Conventional water-cooled chillers and cooling towers may require substantial quantities of freshwater.

Major Data Centre Cooling Technologies

• Air Cooling: In air cooling, fans push cool air through or around the server racks, and the hot air at the end is collected and cooled. The heated air is collected, cooled and recirculated.
• Direct Liquid Cooling: It involves bringing a coolant close to or directly in contact with the components that generate the maximum heat.
• Immersion Cooling: It involves immersing electronic components directly in a non-conductive liquid that absorbs the heat generated during computing.
• Evaporative cooling: It removes heat by transferring it from the servers to water, which is subsequently allowed to evaporate through cooling towers or evaporative condensers.

Concerns with Expansion of Data Centres

• Water Consumption: A 100 MW data centre consumes about 2 million litres of water daily. That is equivalent to the daily use of roughly 6,500 households.
  • India’s data centres consumed an estimated 150 billion litres of water in 2024-25. By 2030, that figure is projected to more than double to 358 billion litres annually.
• Air Cooling Issues: Air cooling can reduce direct freshwater consumption; however, it comes with trade-offs with increasing power demand. India’s data-centre power demand is projected to rise from around 1.5 GW currently to about 17 GW by 2031–32.
  • Even if a data centre reduces its on-site water consumption, electricity generation may still involve substantial water use.
• India’s power grid is already straining under record demand. India curtailed 300 GW-hours of renewable energy in the first quarter of 2026 alone, simply because the grid could not carry it.
  • Over the past five years, India has met only about 80% of its annual transmission targets. 
• Renewable Energy Challenges: Solar projects are being built faster than the wires to carry their power. This matters because data centres need reliable, uninterrupted electricity.
  • If renewable energy cannot reach them, the power will come from coal, adding to the burden of carbon emissions that India is trying to curtail.
• Rise in Surface Temperature: A study found that data centres raise land surface temperatures by an average of 2°C within a 10 km radius, with extreme cases reaching 9.1°C.
  • The study estimates that approximately 340 million people globally live within these affected zones.
• Noise Pollution: Large air-cooling infrastructure also generates substantial noise.
  • Chillers and air-handling units can produce noise levels approaching 100 dB.
• The Governance Gap: The data centre policies of various states offer generous incentives in the form of electricity duty exemptions, transmission charge waivers, stamp duty relief, and fast-track clearances.
  • None of the major state policies require a grid impact assessment before commissioning. 

Way Ahead

• Mandatory water-use disclosure: Operators should report direct and indirect water consumption.
• Water-stress-based site selection: Large data centres should avoid regions facing severe groundwater stress.
• Use of treated wastewater: Freshwater should not become the default source for cooling.
• Renewable energy integration: Reduce dependence on water-intensive thermal power.
• Grid and storage expansion: Strengthen transmission infrastructure and energy storage to accommodate rising AI-related demand.

Source: TH, BS