Potential health impacts tied to California data center pollution tripled between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis from University of California, Riverside researchers.
The report, published by the nonpartisan think tank Next 10, warns that without new mitigation policies, those impacts could climb another 72% by 2028 as processing demand accelerates.
The study links the surge in possible adverse health consequences to a near doubling of data center electricity use during the same period, with state-wide consumption on track to reach more than three times 2019 levels by 2028.
At the high end, data centers could draw 25.3 terawatt-hours annually – roughly equal to the power use of 2.4 million US households.
Environmental Impact Acceleration
Despite California’s relatively sustainable grid, greenhouse gas emissions from data center operations continue to rise due to growing workload demands and ongoing reliance on natural-gas power plants.
The report noted that diesel backup generators, widely used for redundancy and routine testing, also contribute significant nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions, which are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
Shaolei Ren, associate professor in UCR’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering and co-author of the report, told Data Center Knowledge the findings highlight the need for state-level policies aimed at managing both emissions and water use as data center growth accelerates.
“There are already diesel generator emission limit rules in place, but they’re usually not directly informed by health impact assessments,” he explained.
“If we incorporate the public health impacts when considering siting and diesel generator limits, there will be immediate health benefits. In the long run, cleaner grids will help.”
Diesel Phase-Out
The report calls for phasing out diesel generators in favor of long-duration battery storage, adopting stricter siting and emissions standards, and increasing transparency regarding data center environmental impacts.
Ren noted that alternative backup systems are now technologically viable, and some major tech companies are utilizing these systems in conjunction with computational load shifting, which relocates computing to other locations to mitigate grid instability or outages.