TL;DR

The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Nevada hosts one of the world’s largest data centre buildouts, with Google, Microsoft, Apple and Switch constructing enormous facilities. However, the AI infrastructure boom is raising serious concerns about water and power consumption in America’s driest state.

A New Gold Rush

The business park, larger than the city of Denver, sits in Storey county—once called “the Richest Place on Earth” during the 1800s gold rush. Now a new boom is underway, fueled by artificial intelligence and backed by hundreds of billions in venture capital.

Microsoft plans to double its data centre footprint over two years, whilst Amazon, Google, Meta and Oracle are all expanding rapidly. McKinsey estimates global AI data centre spending will reach nearly $7 trillion by 2030—roughly twice the UK’s GDP.

The Environmental Cost

AI requires far more energy and water than traditional computing. A ChatGPT query needs nearly ten times as much electricity as a standard internet search, and supercomputers typically require intensive water-cooling systems. In Nevada, which receives only 11 inches of annual rainfall, this creates significant resource concerns.

“Everyone cannot keep moving to a space that has no resources. Nevada is completely over-allocated on its groundwater resources,” warns Steven Wadsworth, chairman of the Pyramid Lake Paiute tribe, which has lived in the region since long before European arrival.

Looking Forward

For UK businesses considering AI adoption, this story highlights the hidden infrastructure costs behind AI services. As data centre demands grow globally—from Frankfurt to Johannesburg—organisations may face increasing pressure to consider the environmental footprint of their AI usage. The tension between technological advancement and sustainable resource management will only intensify as AI capabilities expand.

Source: The Guardian