L'Etat héberge plus de 800 sites qui consomment pour certains plusieurs centaines de millions de litres d'eau chaque année.
Le coût écologique des data centers en Californie inquiète fortement les investisseurs américains, rapporte vendredi 5 août Bloomberg.
Berceau de la révolution numérique, l’Etat américain héberge en effet aujourd’hui sur son sol certains des plus grands data centers du monde et compte plus de 800 sites. Le principal impact écologique de ces gigantesques centres de stockage de données, composés de rangées de serveurs, vient de l’énorme quantité de chaleur qu'ils dégagent.
Selon un rapport de 2010, les data centers représenteraient déjà 0,2 % des émissions de dioxyde de carbone dans le monde entier. De plus, pour refroidir leurs installations, les entreprises utilisent d’énormes quantités d’eau, souvent plusieurs centaines de millions de litres par an pour un seul data center.
Alors que la Californie est confrontée à un épuisement de ses ressources naturelles et à des périodes de sécheresse récurrentes, de plus en plus d’investisseurs envisagent donc de réorienter leurs placements vers des entreprises plus respectueuses de l’environnement.
A lire sur le site de Bloomberg.
Source : https://www.mediapart.fr
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Can companies keep using hundreds of millions of gallons a year as California dries up?
Data centers, used by governments and large corporations to house their computer systems, have one big environmental problem: They get hot.
To keep them from overheating, large data centers can pump hundreds of millions of gallons of water a year through the facilities, according to company reports. That high demand for water has some investors concerned, especially in places where natural water resources are becoming ever more precious, like tech-heavy California.
"We definitely want our portfolio companies to be cognizant of their water use and take the appropriate steps to minimize their water use and recycle water," said Brian Rice, portfolio manager at the California State Teachers' Retirement System, which manages about $189 billion in assets as of June 30. He cited water usage as a concern at data centers as well as at other portfolio companies, such as those in agriculture.
Golden State
California—home to companies running some of the world's biggest data centers—houses more than 800 of the facilities, the most of any U.S. state, according to Dan Harrington, research director of 451 Research LLC, a technology consulting firm.
Water usage there is especially a concern as the state's drought pushes into its fifth year. California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order in May to extend statewide emergency water restrictions, establishing long-term measures to conserve water.
The water risk to investors of California-based companies operating data centers will not affect them gradually, said Julie Gorte, senior vice president of sustainable investing at Pax World Management LLC. "It will probably come in one big splashy moment," she said....
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