Page 51 - CIJ Feb 2025 - Digital Edition

SUSTAINABILITY

By adopting innovative solutions and
fostering global collaboration, India can
not only address its unique contradictions

but also set a model for sustainable
growth in the data-driven era. The future
of progress depends on it.”

– Amitabh Ray

and fulfils two-thirds of its irrigation with low-cost, consistent electricity energy infrastructure to reduce
needs, is depleting at alarming rates. and cooler climates to mitigate dependence on external providers.
A 2023 UN Water report warns cooling requirements. This underscores the paradox of
that India is nearing a tipping point For India, this presents a dilemma. progress: technological growth
of groundwater exhaustion, with While expanding its data centre fuelled by resource consumption
northern regions losing 95 per cent footprint aligns with its ambitions risks undermining long-term
of their reserves between 2002 and as a global digital hub, the country environmental sustainability.
2022, as per research published in must navigate the water-energy nexus
One Earth. Even significant rainfall
may no longer suffice to replenish carefully to avoid jeopardizing its Charting a Sustainable
this loss, raising questions about scarce resources. Path Forward
long-term water security.
Geopolitical To reconcile the demands of water,
Water-Energy Nexus Conundrum: From Oil energy, and technology, India and
The interplay between water to Algorithms the global community must embrace
and energy is a defining challenge The rise of AI and data centres innovation and sustainable practices --
for data centres, as both resources Energy-Efficient Cooling, Renewable
are critical for their operation. marks a quiet shift in global Energy Integration, Smart Water
While discussions about energy geopolitics, akin to the oil booms Management, Decentralized Data
consumption dominate the discourse, of the past. However, instead Centres, and Policy Interventions to
water’s role is often underestimated. of oil fields and pipelines, the enforce resource efficiency in data
Cooling systems account for nearly new battleground is made up of centre operations while incentivizing
half the energy costs in a typical data unassuming warehouses filled with sustainable innovations.
centre, making efficient energy and servers. This shift is giving rise to The interplay between water, watts,
water use inseparable. “electro-diplomacy,” where nations and algorithms is the paradox of
In 2020, US data centres consumed compete for dominance in kilowatts, progress in the digital age. As India
megawatts, and gigawatts to power
73 TWh of energy, equivalent to their AI ecosystems. strives to become a leader in the
the electricity used by nearly seven global data economy, it must confront
million homes. The COVID-19 India’s competitive advantage as
pandemic further accelerated an emerging data centre hub may be the realities of resource constraints
demand, with internet services short-lived as dominant economies head-on. Balancing the demands of
increasing by 40-80 per cent and invest in clean, abundant energy for a growing digital infrastructure with
video conferencing usage soaring by domestic data hosting. Countries the imperative for environmental
250 per cent. In response, technology like the US, China, and those in sustainability is not just a national
companies are prioritizing locations Europe are developing renewable challenge but a global one.
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