AI data centres raise questions about electricity, emissions, water, and who pays for local infrastructure. The most useful way to discuss them after a screening is to separate global estimates from evidence about a specific site—and to ask what is known, what is measured, and who benefits.
Which documentary and screening is this?
The event title does not identify the film, venue, organizer, or date, so it is not possible to confirm which documentary is being screened. Two films address related issues, but neither can be tied to this event from the available details.
- Water for Data was made by Ospina Jones Studios with Studio 9 Films for Al Jazeera English. Its production page says it was filmed over two weeks in April 2025 in Querétaro, Mexico, where residents had experienced water shortages as AI data centres were being built. That setting does not, by itself, establish that the facilities caused the shortages. Ospina Jones Studios’ film page
- Power Play: How AI Is Rewriting the Energy Equation is described by One Planet Films as a feature documentary about AI and data centres’ energy demands and the challenge of moving toward a low-carbon future. Its page mentions a Calgary screening, but that does not confirm it is the event in question. One Planet Films’ film page
These films offer possible context, not a verified event listing. Check the screening organizer’s own announcement for the title, access details, and any discussion or Q&A.
How much electricity do AI data centres use?
There is no single reliable figure for the electricity used by AI across all data centres. The UK Government’s International AI Safety Report 2025 says recent estimates put AI at 10–28% of data-centre energy capacity. The range reflects uncertainty in separating AI workloads from other computing and in measuring them consistently.
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The same report estimates that data centres and data transmission together account for about 1% of global energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions. That is a global estimate for both categories, not an estimate of AI alone or of any individual facility. A site’s impact depends on its actual electricity use, when it draws power, its efficiency, and the electricity supply serving it.
What determines a data centre’s emissions?
Electricity demand is only part of the picture. Emissions depend on the carbon intensity of the power source, the facility’s location, the time of day or year when it uses electricity, and the efficiency of both the facility and its hardware. Annual claims about matching electricity use with clean energy do not, on their own, explain what power serves a site at each moment.
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The International Energy Agency reported that five large technology companies spent more than $400 billion on capital expenditure in 2025. That figure indicates the scale of investment by those companies; it does not measure data-centre electricity use, emissions, or the costs borne by any one community. IEA release on investment
How much water do AI data centres use?
There is no universal water figure that describes every facility. Water impacts can arise from direct cooling at a data centre, electricity generation, and hardware manufacturing. The amounts and local consequences vary with cooling design, water source, power supply, and local conditions, according to the International AI Safety Report 2025.
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Ask whether a project reports water withdrawal—the water taken from a source—and water consumption—the portion not returned to that source in the same condition or timeframe. A withdrawal total alone does not show how much water is consumed, where it comes from, or whether its use competes with local needs.
A film’s account of residents facing water shortages is important community context, but it is not a facility-level causal assessment. Establishing whether a particular data centre contributes to scarcity requires local evidence about its water use, source, timing, and the wider water system.
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Do data centres increase local energy bills?
That cannot be answered from a global estimate. A large new load may raise questions about grid capacity, new generation, transmission upgrades, and how infrastructure costs are allocated, but the effect on bills depends on local utility planning and regulatory decisions. Ask who pays for required upgrades, whether costs are assigned to the project or shared among customers, and what the relevant utility or regulator has determined.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What local impacts should viewers ask about?
Potential concerns vary by project and location. In a September 3, 2026 Scottish Parliament debate about proposed hyperscale facilities, members raised backup diesel generation, nitrogen-oxide emissions, local air quality, green space, and energy costs. A parliamentary debate records concerns in that particular planning context; it is not a finding that every data centre has those impacts. Scottish Parliament debate, September 3, 2026
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For a specific proposal, look for assessments and disclosures covering the issues that apply locally:
- Electricity demand, load timing, and the power sources serving the site.
- Cooling method, water source, withdrawals, and consumption.
- Backup generators, expected operation, and air emissions.
- Grid and water-system upgrades, their costs, and who pays.
- Land use, including effects on green space and nearby residents.
- Jobs or other durable community benefits, alongside the distribution of costs.
What happens to the heat from a data centre?
Waste heat can be a potential resource, but its reuse should not be assumed. A March 2026 European Commission environment article describes research into using data-centre waste heat for water purification and carbon capture. It presents work under investigation, not a routine capability deployed at every facility. European Commission article on waste heat, March 2026
Questions to take into the post-screening discussion
- What evidence is available about the facility’s electricity demand, and when does it draw power?
- What power sources serve it, and how are emissions measured over time rather than only through annual matching claims?
- What cooling system does it use? Does it consume water, withdraw and return it, or use another approach—and where does its water come from?
- Which local impacts have been assessed, including backup generators, air quality, grid upgrades, water infrastructure, and land use?
- Who pays for new energy and water infrastructure, and what lasting benefits accrue to the host community?
- What information is not public, and who is responsible for disclosing it?
If a screening discusses multiple facilities or proposals, compare like with like: demand and load timing, power-source carbon intensity, cooling and water source, withdrawal versus consumption, backup generation and emissions, infrastructure costs, land use, and reporting transparency. Without comparable local evidence, a ranking would be speculation.
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