In the last decade, the U.S. electric power sector turned away from coal to embrace wind turbines and solar panels, two energy generating sources that require little water for operations and cooling.

Together with the installation of more water-efficient natural gas-fired power plants, the energy shift has been a net benefit for the country’s water resources – a “reduction in the relative risk that our power sector is facing due to water temperatures and water scarcity,” as Jordan Macknick of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory put it.

New considerations are now in the mix. Due to political changes and rising electricity demand to power the AI frenzy, the durability and continuation of that risk-reduction path is less certain for the electric power sector than it was a few years ago.

Energy-hungry data centers are being proposed and constructed at breakneck speed, kickstarting growth in U.S. electricity demand for the first time in nearly two decades.

Today, data centers account for 4 percent of the nation’s electricity use. By 2028, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, data center demand could soar, to between 6.7 and 12 percent of all the electrons consumed nationally.

At the same time, the difficulty in building new transmission lines and the Trump administration’s open hostility to wind and solar – going so far as to cancel the Revolution Wind project off the Massachusetts and Rhode Island coast that was 80 percent complete – is casting a pall over electricity-generating sources that consume little water yet are still seeing vigorous growth in the face of gathering political headwinds.

Data center energy demand, said Dan Reicher, a former assistant secretary of energy in the Clinton administration, is at a junction, one that points not only at the computing industry’s carbon intensity but also its energy-related water use.

Will water-intensive thermal generation like coal and nuclear be revived? The Trump administration ordered the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan, slated for closure, to remain open. Will hydropower and geothermal – two renewable energy sources the Trump administration favors – see their fortunes rise? Will the data center buildout proceed as rapidly as some forecasts suggest?

These changes have the potential to rewrite the twinned narratives of energy and water.

“I think we’re at a very important inflection point right now with the composition of our electricity grid,” Macknick said. “If we do see a resurrection of coal plants or a push for more thermal technologies that utilize recirculating or once-through cooling technologies, we could see a reversal in that trend of water usage and see increases in the water intensity of our electricity sector, which could in turn potentially lead to more risks for our reliable electricity supply.”

Electric Growth

From Arizona and Georgia to New Jersey and Minnesota, data centers have been the target of public pushback due to the water used directly in their operations to cool racks of data-crunching, heat-producing servers. Supplying cooling water to these facilities has taxed water supply infrastructure and strained local water sources. Berkeley Lab estimated direct water consumption for data centers to be 66 billion liters nationally in 2023.

A second form of data center water use has received less attention – the water consumed to generate the electricity that powers these facilities. In aggregate, this indirect use is a much higher number – some 800 billion liters, according to Berkeley Lab.

For data centers, water and energy are two sides of a coin. As servers undertake more intensive computing processes to power generative AI, they produce more heat. In a circular system, that waste heat could be repurposed. But most data centers operating in the U.S. today do not reuse their heat. They instead dissipate it through cooling systems. This is where operators encounter trade-offs between water and energy.

The most energy-efficient means of evacuating waste heat from the server racks is through water. Where water is constrained, data centers can use recirculating systems or huge fans to cool their equipment. Conditioning the air, however, gobbles electricity. Along with the energy that powers the servers, how that energy for cooling is produced determines a data center’s indirect water footprint.

The U.S. electricity mix is not what it was a decade ago. During that transitional period, power generated by burning coal has dropped by more than half, now accounting for only 15 percent of the nation’s electricity. Coal, which needs water for cooling, has been supplanted by natural gas and renewables, particularly solar and wind.

Forecasts for data center energy growth vary, but the direction is the same: up and up. Western Resources Advocates, a research and advocacy group, says that the largest electric utilities in five Colorado River basin states are collectively forecasting annual demand growth of 4.5 percent through 2035.

Efficiency improvements have helped to lighten the load. The Big Tech hyperscalers – Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon – that operate the largest data centers tout their efforts to wring more performance out of less power. Google claims better processors allow the company to generate six times more computing power per unit of electricity compared to five years ago.

“Data centers are more efficient and getting more efficient by the day,” said Reicher, who was the director of climate and energy at Google from 2007 to 2011.

Despite the efficiency gains, the data center expansion, in aggregate, is so massive that total energy demands continue to climb. Berkeley Lab noted that data center electricity demand more than doubled between 2017 and 2023.

How to accommodate this buildout without stressing water supplies is a matter of serious inquiry. Macknick and his colleagues at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are working to identify the best locations for data centers taking into account land, proximity to end users, and energy and water availability.

Reicher said the energy mix in the U.S. is changing because of new priorities in the Trump White House and the Republican-led Congress. How the political turn affects the energy market is an open question, Reicher said. But the administration’s actions – canceling offshore wind, limiting access to equipment, cutting federal funding, and imposing tariffs – are substantial barriers.

“There’s a whole circle of issues that are cutting into the deployment of solar and wind, not just the generating facilities themselves, but adjunct storage capacity, adjunct transmission capacity,” Reicher said. “So we’re really messing things up in a pretty serious way when it comes to this and therefore with all those implications upstream or downstream for water use.”

Macknick mentioned three strategies that data center operators are considering. One is rebooting shuttered fossil fuel and nuclear power stations. Microsoft signed a deal with Constellation Energy in 2024 to reopen Unit 1 at Three Mile Island nuclear plant, in Pennsylvania. Another is to build new natural gas plants. A third is to sign power purchase agreements for renewables. Last year Google signed contracts for 8,000 megawatts of clean energy.

“It’s hard to really parse out what are the trends that will in time be successful,” Macknick said. “I think right now all those options are simultaneously being considered and people are wanting to see what will work, what will be possible, given the large amount of uncertainty that all energy companies are currently facing right now.”

The post Data Center Energy Demand Is Putting Pressure on U.S. Water Supplies appeared first on Circle of Blue.

According to a press release on its website, International Paper is cutting 1,100 jobs at the Savannah containerboard mill and packaging facility, and at the Riceboro containerboard mill and Riceboro Timber and Lumber.

The Current is an inclusive nonprofit, non-partisan news organization providing in-depth watchdog journalism for Savannah and Coastal Georgia’s communities.

Over the past few months, Marcia Dinkins’ eldest child has been hospitalized frequently. A serious infection swept through her daughter’s body, affecting her pancreas, spleen, and gallbladder.

Fortunately, Dinkins’ daughter, Marshale Malone, was able to afford and receive life-saving surgery, thanks to Medicaid.

But without it, Dinkins said, the health emergency could have meant either “life or death” for Malone, who is 40.

The same can be said for her two other daughters, who also suffer from health-related issues, including seizures and blood clots in their lungs and legs, Dinkins told Capital B. In their cases, too, insurance, including Medicaid, has been vital in receiving the care they desperately need.

But because of the significant Medicaid cuts and provisions in the budget and reconciliation package, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Dinkins now worries that these changes will impact the critical care her daughters and others could receive in the future. 

“That’s what made me so angry,” said Dinkins, founder of Black Appalachian Coalition, “because this one bad bill that they want to call beautiful is only going to make it harder for individuals like her and seniors and countless others in the region to be able to get access to health care, especially when the hospitals are already closing down.”

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Read More: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Targets Medicaid, SNAP, and Student Loans

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It’s been a month since President Donald Trump signed the act into law. The legislation requires able-bodied individuals on Medicaid to participate in a work program or community engagement for at least 80 hours a week. It also eliminates a 5% increase in federal matching funds for states, which means state governments must find a way to shoulder the costs. That additional expenditure, experts say, limits their ability to pay for Medicaid. 

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Medicaid, and currently 71 million people are enrolled, with children and women making up the majority. While Black people account for 20% of enrollees, white people represent the highest percentage at 40%, Pew Research Center reports. Children, adults and individuals with disabilities living in rural areas are most at risk, as they are more likely to rely on Medicaid. 

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the provisions in the new law will reduce federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over the next decade and increase the number of uninsured people by 10 million. Some estimates say $150 million of that funding will be removed from rural areas. 

Health care advocates, medical professionals, and doctors are concerned that nursing homes and rural hospitals may close, since the facilities already operate on low margins and rely heavily on Medicaid. An analysis by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research found that more than 300 rural hospitals could face closure or service reductions. 

But, health care professionals, along with advocates, say their biggest fear is that Black communities will be the hardest hit, and the lack of access could lead to death and chronic illnesses, and worsen economic disparities. 

Dr. Kristopher Stepps, a traveling physician in Arkansas and Texas, said, “Basic necessities are not so basic” for people in rural areas who are trying to decide whether to pay for extra medication or to travel to their specialist appointments, which Medicaid helps cover. 

“There is a fear that if those services are taken away, what happens to the members of this community?” Stepps said. “Regardless if you’re a Democrat [or] Republican, at the end of the day, we’re here to take care of people. 

“My biggest fear is that we start losing more lives due to preventable illnesses because of economic crises and folks couldn’t get access to health care.”

A crisis within a crisis

In many rural areas, health care access has become a choice between “slow care or no care,” Dinkins said. 

Urgent care centers are no longer providing rapid services, and emergency rooms are becoming overcrowded with patients who are not experiencing a crisis, but need primary care. This often causes longer wait times, as many are unable to see a doctor due to shortages or lack of transportation, she added. Others already can’t afford the co-pay, which forces them to forgo care.

Cassandra Welchlin lives in Mississippi, where there are already high rates of maternal mortality, obesity, cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. It is also one of the poorest places in the country. Although the state has not expanded Medicaid, the legislation will still affect those who are enrolled as well as those who make too much money to qualify for it, but don’t make enough to purchase their own insurance, she added. 

This isn’t just a health care issue, but an economic and workforce development problem, said Welchlin, who is the executive director of the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable. Welchlin’s organization focuses on economic security for women and girls. 

“This is going to not just devastate Black folks, but because we know there’s a disproportionate amount of Black folks that will be harmed, it’s going to be devastating to our communities,” Welchlin told Capital B.  

“It’s not just about health care, it’s about jobs,” she added. “And when you talk about the cuts to jobs, you talk about people now not having a paycheck to pay the basic necessities, such as rent, such as food, such as utilities. So it’s going to be devastating because it’s going to impact people’s kitchen tables like they haven’t seen it before.” 

In neighboring Louisiana, the state expanded Medicaid in 2016. Alma Stewart, the founder of the Louisiana Center for Health Equity, helped secure that expansion. As a result, it broadened access to primary care, and by 2020, the rate of uninsured adults dropped from 22.7% to 8.9%. Now, this new legislation threatens to undo that progress, Stewart said.

Approximately 1 in 5 Americans are enrolled in Medicaid. In certain districts represented by Republican congressional leaders — including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Reps. Julia Letlow, and Clay Higgins of Louisiana — more than 30% of residents are on Medicaid, according to The New York Times. Stewart said there’s no doubt it will devastate hospitals and the people they serve. 

Stewart expressed disappointment, but also concern for the youth and how the decisions made now will affect their future.

“I know that based on the data, based on the science of facts, they’re not faring well, anxiety, depression, suicide, suicidal ideation, it’s on the increase. What does that say about us as a society?” she said. 

“Those who have the responsibility on their backs should be concerned about what kind of world you are creating … and a society that is not conducive to the overall well-being of its own people to allow them the opportunity to live, to grow, to thrive.”

“Save our own souls”

Shelton Anthony is an administrator at a critical access hospital in Louisiana, where he said about 37% of the revenue the institution receives is from Medicaid payments. He projects the facility may experience up to $700,000 cuts in Medicaid over the next three years and says hospital officials refuse to cut services or lay people off.

Anthony is finding alternative ways, and options like grants, to help the majority Black community of Donaldsonville. In the city, nestled along the west bank of the Mississippi, many people suffer from limited wages and health care disparities. 

He said some of the hospital’s patients make $20,000 a year.

“Can you just stop and even imagine living on $20,000 a year? That’s what we’re faced with, so we have to bring clinics like this to the community so that we can continue to be healthy,” he said.

Anthony, who leads West Ascension Parish Hospital as the CEO, is partnering with community organizations like the health nonprofit Love Impact Coalition to host a free clinic in September. At the event, residents — regardless of insurance — can receive free dental, vision, and health care services. 

And many advocates, doctors, and patients are still uncertain on how Louisiana will respond to the cuts. Despite that, Stewart’s organization is preparing to educate communities. It will continue its mission to improve health outcomes over the next decade through its initiative, LA40by30. In September, she’s hosting the organization’s annual Health Summit, which includes a town hall to hear directly from residents who may be affected, while explaining to others what this law means. 

In Mississippi, Welchlin and her organization will push for improving health care outcomes, including Medicaid expansion and paid leave. They are also continuing their Strong Moms Healthy Babies campaign, which advocates for moms to have 12 months of postpartum under Medicaid.

Back in Ohio, Dinkins is working on education and training initiatives where she works with people in her state as well as in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Michigan. She is going to offer a virtual class on the implications of Medicaid cuts, and she’s building a Black doula network. She’s also calling on organizations in other states to work together to build coalitions.

“When we can come together for that, then we can get back to the place we used to be. Organized people became the organized power that we need,” she said. “Let’s learn about the impact that this is going to have on our communities.” 

Dinkins added: “We have to really have a strong vision in the reality of where we are, and being clear on what is our future vision, and how do we get to that point to save our own souls?” 

The post Medicaid Cuts Endanger Life-Saving Care for Black Families in Rural America appeared first on Capital B News.

Jim Kingston, the son of former U.S. Congressman Jack Kingston, has entered the race for the 1st District seat, raising $750,000 in campaign contributions and benefiting from the support of old-guard Coastal Georgia Republicans, despite having no political experience.

The Current is an inclusive nonprofit, non-partisan news organization providing in-depth watchdog journalism for Savannah and Coastal Georgia’s communities.

Unlike the 2022 plan, the proposed extension doesn’t include any pre-approved rate hikes, but there’s a catch. Georgia Power signaled it will file a separate rate case in 2026 to recover an estimated $860 million in storm costs, mostly due to Hurricane Helene, from its 2.7 million customers. It will also file a case to recover fuel costs from customers by February 2026. If the PSC agrees, that could further raise consumers’ power bills. 

Mayor Craig Snow stepped down at the Lexington City Council meeting earlier this month, citing a large workload for his business and not enough time to serve the city constructively.

 

“I stepped down for mayor because I had some opportunities at work that’s gonna require a lot more of my time and that’s the reason I stepped down,” said Snow, who had been mayor since July 2021 and ran unopposed in November 2023. 

 

A group of 14 bicyclists held a remembrance ride on Sunday in Brunswick, organized by the Gullah/Geechee Club and Brag Dream Team, to keep the memory of Ahmaud Arbery alive and to bring people together.

The Current is an inclusive nonprofit, non-partisan news organization providing in-depth watchdog journalism for Savannah and Coastal Georgia’s communities.

Three export terminals that captured half of the U.S. crude oil export industry have formed around Ingleside on the Bay, turning the Texas Coastal Bend town into an unlikely fenceline community.

A peer-reviewed study has found that 40% of 97 Brunswick natives had higher concentrations of toxicants from two Superfund sites than the national average, with Black participants showing higher exposures than white participants.

The Current is an inclusive nonprofit, non-partisan news organization providing in-depth watchdog journalism for Savannah and Coastal Georgia’s communities.