Microsoft’s next two data center buildings in West Des Moines will use new “zero-water” cooling technology, company officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Communities across the country have wrestled for years with concerns that large data centers can strain local water supplies, especially during peak summer demand.
Catch up quick: In the last decade, Microsoft has launched five data center campuses in WDM, with two still under construction.
- Each site represents over $1 billion in construction investments.
Flashback: In 2023, WDM city leaders said they would consider only future data center projects that implement technology that significantly reduces peak water use — potentially stymieing future proposals or the full development of ongoing projects.
- At the time, data centers were consuming as much as 11.5 million gallons of water per month for cooling, or about 6% of WDM’s total use during peak summer.
State of play: Microsoft launched designs in 2024 that continuously circulate water between servers and chillers to achieve “ultra-low” usage…