HG Ventures flags US data center buildout straining local water, power infrastructure

• HG Ventures analysis flagged accelerating U.S. data center buildouts as a growing strain on local power and drinking-water systems.
• Estimated total U.S. data center water consumption at about 390 billion gallons a year, including on-site cooling and upstream power generation.
• LBNL data showed U.S. data centers used 192 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, equal to 4.7% of total U.S. demand.
• Investment in data centers, hardware, networking reached about 1.4% of GDP in early 2026, with roughly half of GDP growth tied to equipment.
• Policy playbook urged capacity-payment requirements, reclaimed-water systems, waste-heat reuse, peak-demand curtailment to shift costs off households.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. HG Ventures LLC published the original content used to generate this news brief on September 02, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.