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Microsoft's Emissions Spike 29% as AI Gobbles Up Resources

Amid an explosion in AI, energy use and water consumption hit an all-time high in 2023 as Redmond's data centers kick into high gear to compete.

More complex computations mean more data centers, which gobble up water for cooling and require vast amounts of electricity, creating "new challenges" for meeting the sustainability goals Microsoft put in place four years ago. Replenishment projects aim to offset the impacts, especially in "high water stress locations where we operate data centers," including the Colorado River Basin, which the LA Times calls a "dire" situation. On the positive side, Microsoft says it used 23.6 million MWh of renewable energy in 2023, or enough to power Paris for two years, and designated 15,849 acres of land, or the equivalent of 9,000 soccer fields, as "permanently protected."

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