{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","contentId":"0000019b-0f3a-dc99-a5db-ef3ac5c50000","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-data-centers-electricity-bills-water-use","headline":"Amazon data centers: How much water and electricity do they really use?","description":"Data centers use significantly less water than golf courses and car washes, and don’t drive up electricity rates.","datePublished":"2025-12-12T17:02:07.828Z","dateModified":"2026-06-12T21:59:36.389Z","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brandon Oyer, Head of Energy and Water for the Americas, Amazon Web Services"}],"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/a050bf9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5103x3402+472+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F89%2F84%2F4b48c2b1481bb2535452d7b3ec31%2Fbht-1131c.jpg","width":"300","height":"200"},"articleBody":"![Amazon data center technician maintaining racks of networking equipment\n](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/a050bf9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5103x3402+472+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F89%2F84%2F4b48c2b1481bb2535452d7b3ec31%2Fbht-1131c.jpg)\n\n# Amazon data centers: How much water and electricity do they really use?\n\n*Data centers create new jobs, use significantly less water than golf courses and car washes, and don't drive up electricity rates.*\n\n---\n\n## Key takeaways\n\n- Data centers power everything from social media apps to GPS navigation.\n- Data centers use significantly less water than car washes and don’t drive up electricity rates.\n- Amazon data centers create thousands of jobsand have reduced water use per kWh of server capacity (IT load) by 40% since 2021 despite AI growth.\n\n---\n\n[Data centers](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/tag/amazon-data-centers) have become an essential part of powering our daily lives. Everything from [streaming shows](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/tag/streaming) and scrolling social media to enabling emergency 911 dispatch, managing bank accounts, storing medical records, and using GPS to guide us home is largely, if not fully, powered by a data center.\n\nAnd as [AI](https://www.aboutamazon.com/artificial-intelligence-ai-news) continues to develop, it will further transform how we work and live, much like personal computers or the internet did.\n\n![Worker in safety vest amid industrial water pipe labels](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/a22a2c6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F37%2F05%2Fe97abd544c83b08cb5d48929dd74%2Fabout-amazon-hero-bht-1633b.jpg)\n\n- [How much water do Amazon data centers use? 7x less than the industry average](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-data-center-water-usage)\n\nThis all means that the world will need more data centers to power the essential technology that we rely on. As more data centers are built to meet growing demand, communities have raised questions about their environmental impact and effect on local resources. \n\nHere's what the data shows about how they affect electricity rates, water usage, job creation, and more.\n\n## What are data centers?\n\n![Amazon data center staff performing maintenance on server equipment](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/8d52133/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6048x3402+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F19%2F28%2Ffb04c7e44c8989f885c9e8adef9b%2Fbht-0646b.jpg)\n\nData centers are specialized buildings that house cloud computing infrastructure.\n\nDespite its name, [cloud computing](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/tag/cloud-computing) doesn’t live in clouds—it lives in data centers. These buildings contain computing devices, hardware and software, networking equipment (like routers), and other forms of technology infrastructure. Put simply, every time we connect to the internet, send an email, or place an online order, we use a data center—which is the foundation of cloud computing.\n\nThis infrastructure helps power our everyday digital lives—whether it’s connecting to friends and family via social media, working remotely, shopping online, or streaming movies. Almost everything that happens online depends on data centers. Without them, the internet as we know it wouldn’t exist.\n\n## Data centers are not driving up your electricity rates\n\n![An image of Amazon's solar panels at the Baldy Mesa solar farm.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/420015d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Ff4%2F08%2F71b720a84b3c84df667be8a21e0a%2Fabout-amazon-hero-hero01-airenewableenergy-adelanto-day-01-stringout-00-31-19-14-still027.jpg)\n*Assembled in neat rows across a westward stretch of the Mojave Desert in Southern California, solar panels at the Baldy Mesa solar farm are turning ample sunlight into carbon-free energy and sending it into the grid.*\n\nAccording to [research](https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/retail_price_and_cost_trends_2024_update_final_v3.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ([LBNL](https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/retail_price_and_cost_trends_2024_update_final_v3.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com)), residential electricity prices in the U.S. have risen 27% over the past five years. Price jumps are linked to factors such as grid upgrade costs, inflation, extreme-weather recovery, wildfire mitigation, natural gas price spikes, and higher labor and health care costs, according to the [U.S. Energy Information Administration](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/prices-and-factors-affecting-prices.php).\n\nThe same LBNL study also suggests that [increased electricity demand can lower prices](https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/stories/faq-are-amazon-data-centers-raising-electricity-bills). Between 2019 and 2024, states with increases in electricity demand saw lower prices overall, with the biggest factors behind rising rates being infrastructure costs and disaster-proofing investments.\n\nAdditionally, a [2026 report](https://www.crai.com/insights-events/publications/us-retail-electricity-rate-trends-analysis/) by Charles River Associates for the Edison Electric Institute found that data centers were generally not the cause of rate increases in areas where prices rose. The report noted that rate increases have been concentrated in specific regions, while most areas experienced stable rates.\n\nAmazon works with utilities on new and innovative agreements to keep rates comparably low and bring net-new carbon-free energy projects to the grid.\n\n![An image of Amazon's solar panels at the Baldy Mesa solar farm.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/951d60a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1599x1066+1+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F92%2F75%2Fb366467a4866989bdf16e1e0c2d4%2Fsustainability-amazon.jpg)\n\n- [How Amazon is harnessing solar energy, batteries, and AI to help decarbonize the grid](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/carbon-free-energy-projects-ai-tech)\n\n“Amazon's investment in Mississippi data centers is helping us deliver better power at a lower cost to all our customers,” said Haley Fisackerly, president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi. “Through innovative agreements like these, we're able to save customers more than $2 billion on critical grid improvements—including our Superpower Mississippi plan which funds reliability upgrades at no additional cost to residential customers and will reduce bill increases by 16% over the next few years.\n\n“When large customers like Amazon share in the infrastructure costs that benefit everyone, it fundamentally changes the rate trajectory. As other factors like fuel and materials push costs up, revenues from Amazon are helping us keep rates below the national average while cutting power outages in half. This is exactly the kind of partnership that transforms our grid and protects Mississippi families from higher electricity bills.\"\n\n## Data centers use significantly less water than golf courses and car washes\n\nAccess to water is a basic human right, and our teams work hard to ensure that our data centers—and our operations—function efficiently.\n\nAbout 90% of the time, [our data centers use](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-data-center-water-usage) “free air cooling,\" pulling in outside air, running it past servers to absorb the heat, then pumping it back outside—no water involved. For about 10% of year, we use water for cooling.\n\nWe measure water use efficiency (how much water a company uses per unit of compute) by liters per kilowatt hour, or L/kWh. Our L/kWh in 2024 was 0.15 L/kWh, which was five times better than the industry average. Amazon data centers have also improved their water use efficiency by 52% since 2021.\n\nWe’re also working to use “reclaimed” water everywhere we can, and we’re already using more reclaimed water than any other leading data center operator. Reclaimed water is domestic wastewater that has been treated so it can be safely reused for purposes like data center cooling, rather than drawing from fresh, potable water sources. \n\nWe have 26 facilities using 100% reclaimed water and 130 more facilities contracted to use reclaimed water globally.\n\n![Technician servicing ambiguous rack with laptop, near \"Liquid cooled only\" sign.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/f84821f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2550x1434+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F93%2F42%2Fa1897ff44ce0961819f39ba3685e%2Fdatacenter-liquidcooling-feature.png)\n\nWater plays a crucial role across many aspects of modern life—from manufacturing and recreation to the technology that connects us. Industries like golf course maintenance, beef production, waterparks, clothing manufacturing, car washes, and beverage production all require significant water resources.\n\nAnd while data centers have recently been in the spotlight for their water use, they account for only .5% of industrial water use (and Amazon accounts for a small portion of that—about 2%), and they're continuously improving efficiency through innovative cooling technologies and water recycling systems. A single data center building in Indiana uses roughly one-third the water a commercial car wash uses in a year, for example.\n\n![Aerial view of winding blue river amid green terrain](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/2da95d0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3038x2025+281+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Ffb%2F4c%2F228d200747bd80fcdcfd69ac0b26%2Fstandard-jpg-adobestock-277214915.jpg)\n\n- [Amazon's water conservation and replenishment efforts around the world](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-water-conservation-replenishment-sustainability)\n\nAmazon is committed to being [water positive by 2030](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-water-positive-by-2030), meaning we'll return more water to communities than we consume across our data center operations. We're already 75% of the way to this goal through conservation projects, water reuse programs, and replenishment initiatives that provide tangible benefits to local communities.\n\n## Data centers create new jobs\n\n![Construction workers on steel frame of new building with crane of an Amazon Data center](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/162b642/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6048x3402+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fcb%2F69%2Fe9f7fcbd4cdd94f679a49d06b226%2Fbht-1784b.jpg)\n\nData centers [bring economic benefits](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/amazon-data-center-investment-community-impact) including tax revenue, high-paying jobs, and infrastructure improvements to local communities.\n\nAmazon’s data centers represent billions in [local investment](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/amazon-data-centers-locations-news), create thousands of construction jobs, and create hundreds of long-term technical positions while supporting local suppliers, trades, and small businesses. Our data centers also generate substantial, recurring tax revenue that strengthens schools, public safety, infrastructure, and other essential services. In Virginia alone, Amazon data centers paid more than $540 million in taxes and fees last year.\n\n![A teacher and a teacher observing a computer that is open and laid on a desk top.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/7d33783/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1350x900+125+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F53%2F43%2F9fba3e1046d895339fe6f7f35d09%2Faws-story-1.jpg)\n\n- [Watch: AWS series shows what it’s like having data centers in your community](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-series-data-centered-eastern-oregon)\n\nData center development drives critical infrastructure improvements as well, including road upgrades, utility enhancements, and resiliency investments that benefit the entire region. Beyond the economic impact, Amazon invests directly in community programs, workforce development training, [STEM education](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/community/stem-education), and environmental stewardship, helping residents gain new skills and career pathways.\n\nFar from serving only the cloud, data centers power local economies and expand opportunities for the communities they call home.\n\n## Data centers can help prevent outages\n\nModern data centers are increasingly becoming grid assets that enhance stability rather than threaten it. While data centers consume power, they're also becoming sophisticated participants in grid management.\n\nAmazon works closely with utility partners to evaluate innovative ways that our data centers can support grid reliability, such as using on-site or off-site batteries. When evaluating potential participation in these programs, Amazon accounts for multiple factors, including community impact, sustainability, and overall grid reliability, and ensuring no impact to our customers’ experience.\n\n![Female fulfillment center worker smiling while operating manufacturing equipment with robotic arms](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/9b378f5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Fcb%2F5f%2F94f82de04f248dfc927be1fc5084%2Fbullet-train-hero-2000x1125-9.jpg)\n\n- [Amazon commits $1 billion to Career Choice employee education program as part of Future Ready 2030 fund](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/amazon-future-of-work-skills-jobs-training)\n\n## The future of data centers\n\nAs AI and cloud computing continue to transform our world, data centers remain essential infrastructure. [Amazon is committed to being a good neighbor](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/amazon-united-states) anywhere we operate a data center—investing in efficiency innovations, supporting local communities, and working toward a sustainable energy future.\n\nThe conversation about data centers should address how we build and operate them in ways that benefit as many people as possible. That's exactly what Amazon is working to achieve—one data center at a time.\n\nNext, learn more about [how Amazon is building facilities and data centers responsibly](https://www.aboutamazon.com/planet/sustainable-operations).\n\n*This story has been updated to reflect the most up-to-date information about Amazon data centers.*","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"About Amazon","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com","sameAs":["https://x.com/amazonnews","https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon","https://www.instagram.com/amazonnews"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/bd/8f/88e7b0314cc2bd05b9de3155a0fe/amazon-news.svg"},"parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amazon","url":"https://www.amazon.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3884","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)","https://x.com/Amazon"]}}}