Oracle is announcing its pledge to design and build AI data centers with care, considering land use, water, and the natural environment.
According to the company, “we believe our AI data centers play a critical role in supporting America’s leadership in the AI era. They deliver substantial economic benefits, including thousands of jobs both during construction and ongoing operations, community infrastructure upgrades, and ongoing tax revenue. But jobs and economic benefits are only one part of how a community may view an AI data center.”
For example, at its 672-acre Port Washington, Wisconsin site, 172 acres will be preserved or enhanced, including protecting wetlands and planting more than 2,000 native trees to increase biodiversity.
At Oracle’s Saline Township, Michigan AI data center, three-quarters of the site will remain farmland, wetlands, and open space. Oracle also designed the data center campus, so its buildings sit below the road level, along with ample setbacks and natural buffers from trees and landscaping.
Oracle said it uses sensor-controlled, downward-facing lighting to reduce unnecessary light pollution while meeting its safety and security goals. It’s also quiet—just 55 decibels at the property line—which is about the same volume as a normal conversation.
Oracle also heard from community members and local leaders who are worried about a large AI data center’s impact on local water supplies.
To this end, Oracle data centers use what are called closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling systems. These operate much like a home air conditioner, just at a larger scale. The system requires an initial fill of water, and that’s it.
At the company’s site in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, where drinking water resources are especially on the minds of community members, the initial fill will be made with non-potable water drawn from existing commercial water rights. It doesn’t touch any of the community’s drinking water.
Likewise, communities in Michigan and Wisconsin are concerned about protecting the Great Lakes. Oracle’s closed-loop water system keeps the company from ever needing to continually draw water from those important natural resources for cooling purposes.
“Across all our AI data centers, whether in the dry areas of Texas or New Mexico, or the Great Lakes states of Michigan and Wisconsin, our daily water use is similar to that of a typical office building. It’s used only for the typical restroom, kitchen and janitorial services that you’d expect. It’s more efficient for us, and better for the environment to use these closed-loop systems,” Oracle said in a blog post.
While these design choices help minimize environmental impacts, Oracle knows that reliable and affordable energy are a priority for local communities.
Oracle pays its own way on energy, so ratepayers’ bills and electric grid reliability are never impacted by our AI data center.
Oracle—not ratepayers—will fund any electrical infrastructure upgrades needed to service our campuses. Oracle also relies on clean energy sources whenever possible, including wind and solar.
For more information about this news, visit www.oracle.com.