An extensive new analysis looks at the environmental footprint of data centers in the US to get a handle on what, exactly, the country might be facing as this buildout continues over the next few years—and where the US should be building data centers to avoid the most harmful environmental impacts. Similarly, states with less water scarcity are better suited to provide the large amounts of water needed for cooling data centers. (Cooling also constitutes a big part of data center energy use.) Virginia has also offered substantial tax breaks for data centers for years—one technique other states are turning to to lure development. According to Data Center Map, an industry tool that tracks data center development, of the 4,000-plus data centers in the US, more than 650 are in Virginia—the most in the country—and California has more than 320, ranking third.