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Abstract The energy demands from data centers contribute greatly to water scarcity footprint and carbon emissions. Understanding the use of on-site renewable power generation is an important step to gain insight into making data centers more sustainable. This novel study examines the impact of on-site solar or wind energy on data center water scarcity usage effectiveness (WSUE) and carbon usage effectiveness (CUE) at a U.S. county scale for a given data center size, water consumption level, and energy efficiency. The analysis uncovers combinations of specific metrics associated with grid-based carbon emissions and water scarcity footprint that enable predictions of the improvements anticipated when implementing on-site solar or wind energy. The implementation of on-site renewables has the most benefit in reducing carbon footprint in areas with high existing grid-based emissions such as the western side of the Appalachian Mountains (e.g., central and eastern Kentucky). The largest benefit in reducing water scarcity footprint is generally seen in counties with low water scarcity compared to adjacent areas (e.g., northern California).
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China Southern Power Grid’s decarbonization likely to impact cropland and transboundary rivers
Abstract Decarbonizing the electricity sector requires massive investments in generation and transmission infrastructures that may impact both water and land resources. Characterizing these effects is key to ensure a sustainable energy transition. Here, we identify and quantify the unintended consequences of decarbonizing the China Southern Power Grid, China’s second-largest grid. We show that reaching carbon neutrality by 2060 is feasible; yet, doing so requires converting 40,000 square kilometers of land to support solar and wind as well as tapping on rivers to build ~32 gigawatts of hydropower. The impact of wind and solar development would span across multiple sectors, since crop and grassland constitute 90% of the identified sites. The construction of new dams may carry major externalities and trickle down to nearby countries, as most dams are located in transboundary rivers. Curbing the international footprint of this decarbonization effort would require additional investments (~12 billion United States dollars) in carbon capture technologies.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1855982
- PAR ID:
- 10508118
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2662-4435
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01363-1
