If you are familiar with international news, you may have noticed that there is a huge debate going on about data centres. This is not a small or imaginary issue. It is a real global conversation, especially because of the sudden rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Every time we use cloud storage, stream a movie, send an electronic mail, scroll through social media, search on Google, or ask an AI tool a question, that information is processed somewhere. It does not simply float in the sky. It travels through cables, servers, cooling systems, power grids and large buildings. Those buildings are called data centres.
A data centre is basically a giant building filled with computers called servers. These servers store and process information. They run every second of the day because people around the world are always using digital services. Unlike a normal office, a data centre cannot simply switch off at night. It must be available all the time. If the servers stop, websites, banks, hospitals, apps, government systems and companies can be affected. So, the system is designed to keep running almost without interruption.
At first, data centres do not look like an environmental problem. They do not have the same image as coal mines, oil refineries or factories with smoke rising into the air. They often look like clean, silent and modern buildings. Because of this, many people think that the digital world is automatically clean. This is one of the biggest misunderstandings of our time. The digital world may look invisible, it has a very physical cost. It needs land. It needs electricity. It needs water. It creates heat. It produces electronic waste. And, as AI grows, that cost is becoming much larger.
The first major environmental problem is the electricity demand. Data centres use huge amounts of power because thousands of servers work continuously. They also need extra electricity for cooling, lighting, backup systems and security. The International Energy Agency says that global electricity use from data centres could more than double by 2030, reaching around 945 terawatt-hours, which is slightly more than Japan’s current electricity consumption. This means that data centres are no longer a small background part of the economy. They are becoming a major pressure point in the global energy system.
Electricity still comes from mixed energy grids. Some countries use a large share of renewable energy, but many still depend heavily on coal, gas or oil. When data centres demand more electricity, Governments and energy companies may need to build more power plants, expand transmission lines or keep fossil-fuel power stations running for longer. Even when technology companies say that they use renewable energy, the reality is not always simple. A company may buy renewable energy credits, but the local grid may still rely on fossil fuels at certain times of the day. So, the carbon footprint can be hidden behind clever accounting and marketing language.
The second problem is water. Servers become extremely hot when they operate, and that heat must be removed. Many data centres use water-based cooling systems. In cooler countries, outside air can help. But in hotter areas, or during heat waves, cooling becomes more difficult and more water may be needed. Reuters reported the United Nation researchers expect data-centre power and water consumption to double by 2030 because of the growing demand for AI. This shows that the environmental cost of AI is not only about electricity. It is also about water, land and waste.
This is where the moral question begins. Should clean water be used to cool machines when farmers, households and ecosystems are already struggling for water? In many parts of the world, droughts are becoming more common. Rivers are drying, groundwater is falling, and communities are being asked to save water. At the same time, large technology companies are building more data centres to support AI tools, online services and cloud platforms. This creates an unfair situation. The public is told to be careful with water, while some of the richest companies in the world are allowed to use large amounts of it for digital expansion.
The third issue is local impact. Data centres are often promoted as clean investment, but, they can create real pressure on the areas where they are built. They need large plots of land, strong electricity connections, backup diesel generators, cooling equipment and road access. They can change the character of a town or a rural area. Local people may worry about the noise, traffic, water use, pressure on electricity grids and the lack of proper consultation. Backup diesel generators also show that data centres are industrial facilities, not just harmless “cloud” infrastructure.
This is also why the issue is relevant to Sri Lanka. We want to grow our digital economy, attract investment, improve cloud services and prepare for the AI age. These are important goals. Earlier policy discussions have identified data centres as part of Sri Lanka’s wider digital economy and strategic investment direction. More recently, a Sri Lankan policy note warned that AI data-centre ambitions must be considered alongside limits in water, electricity and land. This is important because we are not a country with unlimited resources. Our power system has faced pressure in the past, water security is becoming more important, and land-use decisions often affect communities and ecosystems. Therefore, we should not accept data centres blindly just because they sound modern. If we build them, they must come with renewable energy planning, water efficient cooling, proper environmental assessments, e-waste management and public consultation.
The fourth problem is e-waste. The servers inside data centres do not last forever. Technology changes quickly, and companies replace equipment to increase speed, capacity and efficiency. Old servers, cables, batteries, cooling systems and e-parts must go somewhere. If they are not properly reused or recycled, they can become e-waste. E-waste can contain metals and chemicals that are harmful when handled badly. A digital economy that constantly demands faster machines can quietly create a waste problem that poorer countries and informal workers may end up handling.
This does not mean that data centres are completely bad. They are necessary for the modern world. Hospitals need secure data. Banks need reliable systems. Universities need research computing. Governments need digital services. Businesses need cloud platforms. Even climate scientists use data to model weather, floods and environmental change. The problem is not the existence of data centres. The problem is uncontrolled growth without honest environmental accounting. We cannot call something green just because it is digital.
There are better ways forward. Governments can require companies to disclose their real electricity and water use. Data centres can be located where renewable energy is available and where water stress is low. Cooling systems can be improved. Waste heat can sometimes be reused for nearby buildings. Old equipment can be repaired, reused or recycled responsibly. Companies can also be pushed to use less wasteful AI systems instead of building bigger models only because it is profitable or fashionable.
The public also has a role. We should stop thinking of the internet as weightless. Every photo stored forever, every unnecessary video, every repeated AI request and every unused cloud file has a small environmental cost. One person’s action may be tiny, but, billions of people using digital services every day create a huge demand. This does not mean that we must stop using technology. It means that we must use it with awareness and demand responsibility from the companies that profit from it.
The data-centre debate is really a debate about the kind of future that we want. Do we want a future where technology grows first and environmental questions are asked later or do we want a future where innovation is planned within the limits of energy, water, land and community rights? The answer matters because the cloud is not above nature. It is built on the ground, connected to power plants, cooled by water and filled with physical machines.
Data centres may be necessary, but, they must not be treated as harmless. They are part of the climate debate, the water debate, the energy debate and the justice debate. The world needs digital progress, it also needs environmental honesty. A smarter future should not only be faster and more connected. It should also be fairer, cleaner and more responsible.
The writer is an electronic engineer with a background in information technology and sustainability
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication