As artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and streaming services fuel exponential digital growth, the infrastructure powering it all, datacenters, has become a cornerstone of the modern world. While energy consumption and carbon emissions are often in the spotlight, a quieter but equally critical concern is coming into focus: water usage. Traditional evaporative cooling methods are pushing the limits of sustainability, particularly in drought-prone regions.

What role does water play in datacenter operations, what solution has Novva developed, and how might direct-to-chip cooling redefine the future of sustainable data infrastructure?

The Rising Challenge of Thirsty Datacenters

The explosion of AI, cloud computing, and large-scale web services has turned datacenters into highly profitable (and highly resource-intensive) commodities. Companies are racing to expand capacity at breakneck speed, with some even resorting to industrial tents to house temporary facilities. The pace of construction is impressive, but the environmental and operational costs are starting to catch up.

Energy consumption and CO₂ emissions have received the bulk of attention, and for good reason. Yet a less-publicised but equally pressing challenge is water usage. Datacenters rely heavily on clean water for cooling, with some facilities consuming as much as 110 million gallons annually. In a world where water scarcity is already a reality, such consumption is unsustainable, and this rising demand for water drives up costs, sparking backlash from both regulators and local communities.

Mitigation strategies do exist, but they are far from perfect. For example, placing datacenters in naturally cooler regions can reduce water requirements, yet this often conflicts with the low-latency demands of global users. Non-water-based cooling technologies are also being explored, such as air cooling, liquid immersion, and hybrid systems, but so far, none have yet proven as economically viable as water.

Novva Tackles Data Center Water Consumption With Direct-to-Chip Cooling

Recognising the growing challenge of thirsty datacenters, Novva Data Centers is taking an unconventional approach for cooling modern hyperscale facilities: closed-loop water cooling with direct-to-chip contact. Their new 60-megawatt Tahoe Reno data center, a 300,000-square-foot facility on 20 acres at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, employs a proprietary direct-to-chip cooling system that drastically reduces water consumption compared with standard evaporative methods.

Where typical large-scale data centers can consume millions of gallons of water annually, Novva’s system requires just 12,000 gallons, and only once. This water circulates in a closed-loop system indefinitely, with no loss to evaporation or condensation. By moving liquid directly to the chips, the company bypasses massive cooling towers, chillers, and other infrastructure, reducing both footprint and construction cost.

Expanding Sustainability Beyond Cooling Efficiency

Beyond its direct-to-chip design, the Tahoe Reno campus also integrates a range of sustainability measures designed to minimise both water and energy impact. The facility employs recyclable polypropylene piping within its closed-loop cooling infrastructure, helping to reduce material waste while maintaining long-term system durability. Office spaces use radiant cooling and heating, LED lighting with occupancy sensors, and drought-resistant landscaping, all part of Novva’s broader commitment to efficient resource use across its portfolio.

This holistic approach underlines that Novva’s sustainability strategy goes beyond water efficiency alone. It extends into building design, construction methods, and day-to-day operational practices, aligning with evolving environmental standards and regional conservation goals in Nevada and the broader western United States.

Engineering Performance for Arid Environments

The Tahoe Reno facility consists of six 10-megawatt halls, each leveraging the direct-to-chip approach, and the system is able to maintain efficient thermal management even in arid climates, where conventional evaporative cooling struggles as ambient temperatures rise. According to Novva CEO Wes Swenson, their approach is more robust than traditional water cooling, and it fits the realities of drought-prone western U.S. regions where Novva operates.

Novva’s Tahoe Reno site is one of four fully operational facilities, joining locations in West Jordan, Utah, North Las Vegas, and Colorado Springs. Additional developments in Mesa, San Francisco, and a second Utah campus are underway, representing over one gigawatt of combined planned capacity by 2028. This scaling strategy highlights the company’s intent to meet growing demand for AI-ready and cloud-optimised infrastructure, while maintaining environmentally conscious design principles across its network.

According to CEO Wes Swenson, the site’s proximity to major western hubs such as San Francisco and Las Vegas provides strategic low-latency connectivity and access to renewable energy sources. This positioning strengthens Novva’s role within the western U.S. technology corridor, where sustainable datacenter infrastructure is increasingly regarded as a competitive differentiator.

Balancing Expansion with Power Availability

The data center is currently around 50% leased, with another 35% pre-leased, but expansion is constrained by available power, with NV Energy only able to supply 10–20 megawatts of additional load per year. Novva has plans for further growth in Northern Nevada, though future developments may require local power generation to support additional capacity.

In addition to its cooling and efficiency advances, the facility incorporates several technical and operational innovations aimed at reliability and client convenience. A 100-megawatt on-site substation enables scalable power delivery from NV Energy, while Novva’s proprietary energy architecture allows 100% concurrent maintainability through distributed redundant systems and lithium-ion UPS units. The result is a design that prioritises uptime and performance alongside sustainability.

To enhance operational security and automation, Novva employs robotic dog monitoring and advanced perimeter surveillance systems, complemented by on-site amenities such as private offices, storage, conference facilities, and even leisure spaces for client teams. This blend of innovation and user experience underscores the company’s focus on creating next-generation, human-centred datacenters.

Are We at a Cooling Crossroad?

The water used to cool data center chips has become a pressing problem, and the current reliance on large-scale evaporative systems is unsustainable. With the economics starting to tip against such water usage, engineers and operators are facing a decision point: either adopt more efficient alternatives or continue to push against the limits of scarce resources.

Novva’s direct-to-chip cooling technology offers a clear path forward for this cooling issue. By recycling its 12,000 gallons of water indefinitely in a closed-loop system, it eliminates the waste inherent in traditional evaporative methods. In regions prone to drought, and in facilities where water costs are rising, such efficiency may soon be essential.

Whether Novva’s approach becomes the standard is still an open question. Implementation costs, integration challenges, and industry inertia will all play a role. But given the scale of water savings and the increasing scrutiny on resource use, the rationale for adopting closed-loop, high-efficiency cooling systems is compelling. For data centers, the future may well hinge on which cooling strategies survive this crossroad.