AI-related data centers are multiplying, but their water and electricity consumption remains, for the most part, out of public view. Three recent TechRadar Pro articles, based on a Comparitech study, a Lighthouse Reports investigation and a US Department of Energy program, reach the same conclusion: construction is moving faster than information.

Growth concentrated in the United States

According to Comparitech, the United States has built 127 data centers since 2023 and overwhelmingly dominates growth. Russia added 77 and the United Kingdom 58. In terms of pace, Russia is growing by 44% and the United Kingdom by 12%. Measured against the US stock of 5,427 data centers, the 127 new units represent growth of about 2%, according to a calculation based on the published figures. The United States therefore leads in numbers, other countries in speed. The gap in size remains huge: with 251 facilities, Russia has less than 5% of the US total.

Water stress is not limited to dry countries

The study uses the World Resources Institute definition: a country that uses more than 80% of its available water resources is in a situation of water stress. Comparitech rates this phenomenon from 1.0 (low) to 5, with a level between 4 and 5 considered extremely high. Chile (4.5) and Belgium (4.4) top the countries studied, far ahead of the United States (2.6) and the United Kingdom (1.3).

The Belgian case shows that a humid, temperate climate offers no protection. Twelve new facilities have opened there since 2023, while a data center can require up to five million gallons of water per day, or nearly 19 million liters, according to the figures cited by the study. This is a maximum, not an average: the actual consumption of each site is precisely what remains hard to know.

In Europe, data is reported but hard to access

Lighthouse Reports concludes that most European data centers still conceal the true scale of their impact, despite European Union rules meant to improve transparency on energy and water. Even when submitted to the authorities, these figures remain difficult for the public to access.

The Netherlands, which Lighthouse Reports nonetheless considers one of the most transparent countries in the EU, illustrates the problem. Of 186 data centers of more than 500 kW in operation at the end of 2025, only 44 published their electricity consumption and 47 their water consumption, or roughly one in four. In the other member states, many of the organization’s requests were refused, with authorities saying they did not hold the data or deeming it confidential.

Two views clash over how to report. The EU favors efficiency labels, modeled on those for household appliances. For Lighthouse Reports, this is not enough: a highly efficient hyperscale facility can still consume considerable amounts of water and electricity, and only raw figures allow residents and decision-makers alike to assess an existing site or a project. The organization has filed a complaint under the Aarhus Convention on access to environmental information. The European Commission had not responded to TechRadar Pro at the time of publication.

In the United States, the grid prepares for new loads

On the electricity side, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity announced on September 24 its intention to co-fund 31 projects in 26 states under the SPARK program. The total reaches $5.25 billion, but the federal share is limited to about $1.9 billion, or some 36%; the remaining $3.35 billion comes from the recipients. These funds come from a program created by the 2021 infrastructure law, and the agreements will not be finalized until between October 2026 and January 2027.

The projects aim to rebuild about 1,500 miles of lines (some 2,400 km), deploy optimization technologies on nearly 21,000 additional miles and unlock more than 23 GW of capacity. The link with AI remains indirect: only three of the 31 project summaries mention AI or data centers. Four of the largest projects, however, concern transmission to “large new loads,” a category that can cover data centers as well as factories. As for the role of data centers among the main drivers of US electricity demand in 2026 and 2027, it is a forecast, not an observation.

On household bills, views also diverge. The Department of Energy says these projects will help reduce costs for about 100 million Americans. Lawmakers from both major parties, for their part, are proposing measures to prevent the cost of new data centers from being passed on to individuals. The outcome will depend on how regulators and operators decide to split costs between large consumers and residential customers.

And in Switzerland?

The sources consulted provide no figures on data centers in Switzerland. What follows is therefore analysis, not observation. The question raised by the European investigation applies here too: what do the operators based in the country publish about their water and electricity consumption? The Dutch example shows that, even in a country considered among the most transparent in the Union, about three sites out of four do not publish this data. For client companies, host municipalities and grid operators, having raw figures rather than efficiency indicators alone remains the condition for measuring the real effects, on water as well as on electricity.

Sources

  • “These are the countries building the most data centers — and those where water consumption is most worrying,” TechRadar Pro (France), October 8, 2026: link
  • “Most data centers still refuse to reveal how much water and electricity they consume,” TechRadar Pro (France), October 5, 2026: link
  • “Data centers are pushing US electricity consumption up — $5.25 billion in projects are coming,” TechRadar Pro (France), October 2, 2026: link