Overview
- The Öko‑Institut study commissioned by Greenpeace found German data centres used about 13 billion litres of water for cooling in 2025 and estimated that demand could rise to as much as 27 billion litres a year by 2030.
- Investigations by SWR and Tagesschau and analysis in several outlets show many operators did not publish legally required water and electricity figures and the federal register holds incomplete or non‑consenting entries.
- Industry and researchers dispute the sector’s water intensity: Bitkom reports roughly 0.1 litres per kWh while the Öko‑Institut’s cleaned data gives a weighted mean of 0.67 litres per kWh, and experts note dry, compression or closed‑loop cooling can cut direct water use to near zero.
- Public opposition has grown into coordinated European actions, including a mass occupation of a Microsoft construction site in Amsterdam that led to many arrests, with campaigners calling for moratoria and local water safeguards.
- Policymakers face a trade‑off between fast AI capacity build‑out and local resource limits as Bitkom projects electricity demand of about 35–38 TWh by 2030, prompting calls for mandatory water impact assessments, bans in water‑stressed areas and stronger enforcement of reporting rules.