Short answer: A data center is often a large, steady electricity load, but it is not automatically the most resource-intensive type of industrial development. Its water footprint includes onsite cooling and the water consumed to generate its electricity. A factory, semiconductor fabrication plant, steel mill, refinery, or chemical facility may use less electricity but far more fuel, process heat, steam, feedstocks, or process water. No defensible ranking exists until you define the facility size, project boundary, operating year, and whether you are measuring power capacity, annual energy, water withdrawals, or water consumption.
The clearest current U.S. evidence shows rapidly rising data-center electricity demand, while comparable land-and-water figures across all major industrial sectors remain unavailable. Treat the figures below as carefully bounded measurements or projections, not universal rates for every site.
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Why the comparison has no single winner
“How much does a data center use compared with a factory?” sounds like a request for one number. In practice, it combines different kinds of facilities and different resource measures.
- A data center converts electricity into computing, networking, storage, and cooling services. Its load can be high and relatively continuous.
- Manufacturing facilities can consume electricity, natural gas, steam, fuels, process heat, and feedstocks. Some generate electricity onsite, so grid electricity alone understates their energy use.
- Water can be taken from a source and returned, consumed through evaporation or incorporation into a product, or supplied through reclaimed systems. Those are different impacts.
- Land may mean a building footprint, a developed parcel, an entire campus, or the full project area including substations, generation, transmission corridors, roads, water infrastructure, setbacks, and buffers.
Comparing one sector’s measured annual consumption with another sector’s maximum design capacity produces a misleading result. A useful comparison holds the facility scale, boundary, year, and metric constant.
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Use an apples-to-apples measurement framework
Define the physical boundary
For land, state exactly what is included. A building footprint answers a different question from the developed parcel. A data-center campus may also require substations, emergency generation, fuel storage, cooling plants, stormwater works, security setbacks, internal roads, and future expansion areas. An industrial project may include process buildings, warehouses, tanks, rail spurs, wastewater treatment, docks, utility corridors, and buffers.
For a fair site comparison, report at least two areas when available: the primary developed area and the total project or campus area. If offsite transmission, a remote power plant, or a shared water facility serves several users, explain whether that land is allocated to the project or excluded.
Separate capacity from annual energy
Peak grid capacity is measured in megawatts (MW). Annual electricity consumption is measured in megawatt-hours (MWh) or terawatt-hours (TWh). A facility can have a large connection sized for occasional peaks but lower annual use, while another can operate at a steadier level with a smaller peak-to-average difference.
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Label water withdrawals, consumption, and reuse
Withdrawal is water taken from a river, aquifer, municipal system, or other source. Consumption is the portion not returned to the same system within the relevant accounting period, commonly because it evaporates, is incorporated into products, or is transferred elsewhere. Reuse describes water used again within the facility or supplied from reclaimed sources. A withdrawal number and a consumption number are not interchangeable.
Report the source, season, discharge destination, treatment level, and whether the value is a design maximum, an operating average, or a measured result. Local scarcity can make a smaller withdrawal more consequential than a larger withdrawal in a water-abundant basin.
Keep the dates and uncertainty visible
Observed historical use, a permitted design limit, and a modeled future scenario answer different questions. Put the year and status next to every number. Projections should include their scenario range and assumptions rather than being presented as settled demand.
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What the current data show about data-center electricity
Recent historical use
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 2024 assessment estimated that U.S. data centers used 176 TWh of electricity in 2023, about 4.4% of national electricity consumption. The U.S. Department of Energy summarized that result in 2024. It also projected 325–580 TWh by 2028, equivalent to 6.7–12% of U.S. electricity under the assumptions used at the time.
The 2028 range is an older projection and should not be substituted for newer estimates. It is useful as historical context, not as a current forecast.
The newer 2030 projection
In June 2026, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated that data centers could account for 11.8% of U.S. electricity in 2030. Its modeled scenarios ranged from 9.5% to 15.3%. These are projections, not a measurement of future consumption.
The model uses planned shipments of information-technology equipment, device electricity use, cooling simulations, and information about facility types and locations. Actual demand can differ when equipment deployment, utilization, efficiency, construction schedules, grid constraints, or project cancellations change.
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The national percentages describe the data-center sector as a whole. They do not tell you how much electricity a particular building, campus, or proposed project will use. A site-specific assessment still needs the connected load, expected operating profile, cooling design, expansion phases, and backup-power arrangements.
They also do not establish that data centers use more total energy than manufacturing. A manufacturing comparison must add purchased fuels, steam, process heat, and feedstocks rather than looking only at electricity purchased from the grid.
How industrial energy use differs by process
Manufacturing is not one category
Industrial developments have different energy signatures because their products and processes differ. A facility may run motors and electric furnaces, burn natural gas for high-temperature heat, buy steam, use fuels as chemical feedstocks, or generate power onsite. Its annual electricity can therefore be modest relative to its total energy requirement, or electricity can dominate.
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s final 2022 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey results, released March 18, 2026, provide sector context. Among the listed manufacturing subsectors, chemicals had the largest share of purchased electricity, natural gas, and steam. That finding describes the survey’s subsector distribution; it is not a universal intensity ranking for every plant or product.
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Fabs combine substantial electrical loads with tightly controlled temperature, humidity, air filtration, and vibration conditions. They also use high-purity water and generate process wastewater that requires treatment. The relevant boundary can include central utility plants, chemical handling, wastewater treatment, and support buildings, not only the cleanroom.
A fab-versus-data-center comparison should therefore show electricity, fuel, process-water withdrawal, water consumption, reclaimed-water share, and wastewater volumes separately. A single “water used” number hides the distinction between make-up water, recirculated water, and water discharged after treatment.
Steel plants
Steelmaking can require electricity for furnaces and rolling, fuels and reducing agents for heat and chemical reactions, and large circulating-water systems. Water may be repeatedly reused for cooling and process control, so gross withdrawals can be much larger than net consumption. Older steel-water figures vary widely by technology, product mix, and accounting method and should be dated rather than presented as a current sector benchmark.
Refineries and chemical plants
Refineries and chemical facilities use heat, steam, electricity, fuels, and feedstocks. Cooling systems, boilers, process water, fire protection, wastewater treatment, storage tanks, pipelines, and safety setbacks can all affect the project boundary. Some energy inputs become part of the product rather than being consumed as utility energy, which is another reason electricity-only comparisons fail.
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Food, paper, metals, automotive, and other plants can have very different peak loads and water profiles. A facility with intermittent high-temperature operations may need a large capacity connection but consume less electricity annually than a continuously operating data center. Conversely, a plant with intensive washing or evaporative processing may have a larger water footprint even when its electricity demand is lower.
How to account for data-center water
Direct onsite water
Direct use can include cooling-tower make-up, evaporative cooling, humidification, water treatment, and wastewater blowdown. Evaporation is consumption; blowdown is a discharge stream that may be treated and returned or sent to a wastewater system. Closed-loop or air-cooled designs can change the balance between onsite water, electricity use, equipment cost, and local climate sensitivity.
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Indirect water from electricity generation
Power plants can withdraw and consume water to produce the electricity a data center purchases. That indirect component depends on the regional generation mix, cooling technology, fuel type, season, and whether the accounting uses withdrawals or consumption. A data center’s water footprint is therefore not fully described by its utility meter or cooling plant alone.
The 100 MW illustration
A 2026 U.S. Geological Survey synthesis cites an illustrative example of a 100 MW data center consuming 2 million gallons of water per day. This is an example drawn from underlying work, not a universal rate per 100 MW facility. The result can change with cooling technology, climate, operating load, water treatment, and the definition of consumption used.
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When using the example in planning, label it as an illustration and replace it with the proposed design’s water balance: source withdrawals, evaporative losses, blowdown, reclaimed-water inputs, discharge, and indirect power-generation water.
Why land comparisons remain unresolved
Current public information does not establish comparable, up-to-date site or campus areas across data centers, fabs, steel plants, refineries, and other industrial developments. A data-center building can sit on a relatively compact parcel while its substations, transmission upgrades, backup generation, water facilities, access roads, and expansion reserve occupy additional land. An industrial plant may have a smaller main building but a larger tank farm, rail connection, wastewater system, safety buffer, or utility corridor.
Without a common boundary, saying that data centers use more or less land than factories is not supported. The correct conclusion is narrower: land intensity is project-specific and must be measured using the same boundary definition for each development.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical comparison table for project reviews
Use a table like the following when reviewing two proposals. Do not fill a cell with a peak, average, or design figure without labeling it.
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| Dimension | Data center entry | Industrial facility entry | Required qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | Building footprint, developed parcel, and total campus | Process footprint, developed parcel, and total project | Include or exclude substations, generation, roads, buffers, and shared utilities consistently |
| Electricity capacity | Peak grid connection and onsite generation capacity in MW | Peak purchased capacity plus onsite generation in MW | State whether the figure is firm, interruptible, phased, or ultimate build-out |
| Annual electricity | Measured or modeled MWh/TWh by operating year | Measured or modeled MWh/TWh by operating year | Do not compare one facility’s peak capacity with another’s annual use |
| Other energy | Fuel for backup generation and other onsite uses | Fuel, steam, process heat, and feedstock energy | Electricity-only figures understate many manufacturing processes |
| Water withdrawal | Cooling, treatment, humidification, and other source withdrawals | Process, cooling, boiler, sanitation, and other withdrawals | Identify source, season, and design versus operating value |
| Water consumption | Evaporation, incorporated water, and other non-returned water | Evaporation, incorporation, treatment losses, and transfers | Use the same accounting period and definition |
| Reuse and discharge | Reclaimed input, recirculation, blowdown, and discharge | Reclaimed input, recirculation, wastewater treatment, and discharge | Report quality, destination, and permit conditions |
| Indirect water | Water associated with purchased electricity | Water associated with purchased electricity and other energy | State the generation mix and method if quantified |
Step-by-step method for a defensible site comparison
- Set the comparison question. Decide whether you are evaluating grid impact, total energy, local water stress, construction land take, operating land take, or all of these.
- Match the facility scale. Compare a building with a building, a campus with a campus, or an industry total with an industry total. Record the planned phase and ultimate build-out.
- Draw the boundary on a map. Mark the main buildings, utility plants, substations, generation, storage, roads, wastewater facilities, transmission and water connections, buffers, and shared infrastructure.
- Collect power data in two columns. Record peak MW separately from annual MWh or TWh. Add onsite generation and identify whether it is backup, supplemental, or routine.
- Build an energy ledger for industrial facilities. Add electricity, fuels, steam, process heat, and feedstocks so the result does not privilege electrically powered facilities.
- Build a water balance. List withdrawals by source, internal reuse, reclaimed-water input, evaporation, product incorporation, blowdown, treatment losses, and final discharge.
- Add indirect electricity water. Use a stated generation mix and a stated withdrawal or consumption method; otherwise mark the value as not established rather than implying precision.
- Attach dates and operating conditions. Identify the measured year, forecast year, season, utilization assumption, climate, and whether the number is an average, maximum, or permitted limit.
- Test local constraints. Check grid interconnection, water availability, wastewater capacity, drought rules, air permits, fuel logistics, and land-use requirements for the actual jurisdiction.
- Publish the uncertainty. Show ranges and scenario assumptions. A range is more informative than a single number that conceals design or forecasting uncertainty.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Using the 2030 projection as a present-day measurement
The 11.8% figure and its 9.5–15.3% scenarios are modeled outcomes for 2030. Present them as projections and retain the scenario range. For historical context, use the separately dated 176 TWh and 4.4% estimate for 2023.
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Quoting the 2-million-gallon example as a standard rate
The USGS-cited figure is an illustrative 100 MW case. It does not establish that every 100 MW facility consumes that amount. Ask for the project’s cooling design, climate assumptions, water balance, and accounting definition.
Counting withdrawals as consumption
Cooling systems may withdraw water and return some of it after treatment. Conversely, evaporation can make consumption substantial even when discharge is low. Keep the two metrics in separate columns.
Comparing electricity with total industrial energy
A factory’s natural gas, steam, process heat, fuels, and feedstocks can be material. Include them or state clearly that the comparison covers electricity only.
Making a land claim from a building footprint
Include the infrastructure needed to connect and operate the project, then apply the same boundary to the industrial comparator. If comparable areas are unavailable, say so rather than ranking the sectors.
Ignoring location
Water availability, generation mix, climate, grid congestion, wastewater capacity, and seasonal restrictions can change the practical impact of the same design. A national average cannot answer a local permitting question by itself.
What can be concluded today
Data centers are major and growing electricity loads in the United States. The latest LBNL projection places their possible 2030 share at 11.8% of national electricity, with a 9.5–15.3% scenario range, while the 2023 estimate was 176 TWh or about 4.4%. Those figures justify careful grid and energy planning, but they do not rank data centers above every industrial sector.
The water question is two-part: onsite cooling and water associated with electricity generation. The USGS-cited 2-million-gallon-per-day example for a 100 MW facility illustrates the scale that can be involved, not a universal design rule. Manufacturing water use can be higher or lower depending on process, reuse, climate, and accounting boundary.
Land is the least resolved part of a cross-sector comparison. Until projects report equivalent boundaries and current areas, no reliable statement can say that data centers occupy more or less land than other large industrial developments. For construction and permitting decisions, the defensible approach is a project-specific ledger that keeps capacity, annual energy, withdrawals, consumption, reuse, indirect water, and land components separate.
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