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Energy-Water-Land Frameworks for Data Center Siting and Operations

This white paper focuses on energy-water-land intersections for data center siting and operations. Challenges include rapid deployment of data centers and consequential uncertainty regarding the extent these facilities may impact or be constrained by water, land, and energy resou...

Macknick, J., Schneider, K., Barton, R., Hardikar, M., Martin, J., Struck, S., Lepley, K., Steward, D., Smith, F., Levine, A., Rivers, M., Rosenlieb, E., Gu, J., Podgorny, S., Castelao, G., and Leick, N.

A National Framework for Water-Informed Geothermal Expansion and Energy-Water Resilience

This white paper outlines the need for a coordinated, national framework to guide geothermal energy expansion in ways that use water efficiently and strengthen energy-water resilience. It highlights the opportunity to connect national-to-regional modeling with site-scale analysis,...

Wild, T., Niazi, H., DiRaddo, S., Villante, M., Goecker, A., and Chowdhury, K.

Standardized Siting and Risk Analysis Decision Support Mechanisms for Water-Intensive Industries

This paper focuses on water for cooling industrial energy generation loads and energy and water for cooling large process loads. A challenge is that siting any large facility with substantial water demands without understanding baseline conditions and assessing potential multi-sec...

Fuchs, H., Karki, U., Stokes-Draut, J., Rao, P., Varadharajan, C., Hodson, A., Ajami, N., and Shehabi, A.

Aligning Bytes with Basins to Promote Data Center Growth in the U.S.

This white paper examines the water-energy tradeoffs of U.S. data-center expansion, highlighting how cooling choices, power sourcing, and siting decisions shape local water security, grid resilience, and watershed sustainability. The study focuses on integrating direct (on-site po...

Siddik, M., Turner, S., and Chinthavali, S.

Enabling Energy-Water Resilience in U.S. Data Centers: Water-Aware Grid Planning and Operations with Infrastructure-Compatible Cooling

Rapid, concentrated expansion of AI data centers is reshaping electricity demand profiles, local infrastructure requirements, and regional resource constraints. These facilities are often sized from tens to hundreds of megawatts with multi-gigawatt campus clusters. They are relati...

Zhou, Z., Wu, M., Qiu, F., Muehleisen, R., Zhao, D., Yan, E., and Worek, W.

Co-Development Opportunities Between Hydropower and Municipal Water and Wastewater Infrastructures

This white paper outlines opportunities to modernize U.S. water-energy infrastructure through co-development of hydropower with municipal water and wastewater systems. It highlights the untapped potential of integrating hydropower generation into new and existing water supply proj...

Chu, A., and DeNeale, S.

Hydrotwin: an AI-based physics and optimization framework for improved water resource resilience in systems experiencing adverse events

This white paper focuses on water for energy. As we move ahead into an uncertain future for water resource demand and supply, a massive challenge exists to optimize water systems to be resilient to a range of press/pulse extreme event states and conditions. Optimal decision-makin...

Bennett, K., Schwenk, J., and Garcia, M.

Water Availability for Cooling Systems: Assessing Demands, Constraints, and Alternative Sources for Thermoelectric Plants and Data Centers

This white paper focuses on enhancing the intersection of energy and water resilience by advancing water reuse and reclamation technologies, particularly for thermoelectric power plants and data centers. The primary goal is to efficiently manage cooling water to meet growing deman...

Pacheco, C., Cafferty, K., Reese, S., Atkinson, T., Mosier, T., and Tidwell, V.

Water for Baseload Power-A Revamp of the Nation's Nuclear Water Use Data

Providing approximately 20% of total U.S. electricity generation each year from a fleet of only 54 plants (94 reactors) nationwide, the nuclear sector is characterized by large and locally impactful power generating facilities. About half of existing reactors rely on once-through ...

Turner, S., Siddik, M., Montgomery, C., and Marston, L.

Unlocking Small-scale Hydropower using Water Infrastructure for National Energy Security

Reliable local energy generation and long-duration energy storage are critical to balancing peak demands and providing distributed emergency backup near both urban and rural populations. However, small-scale (< 10 MW) hydropower faces barriers, including siting, permitting, water ...

Stokes-Draut, J., Taylor, M., and Rao, P.

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