How Business Insider calculated data centers' true cost, from their electricity and water use to their impact on the environment and public health.

Business Insider identified 1,240 data centers in America already built or approved for construction at the end of last year — the most comprehensive tally to date.

Business Insider's "The True Cost of Data Centers" series explores the impacts — on water, power, pollution, and local economies — of Big Tech's race to dominate a future built on AI.

In this Sunday edition of Business Insider Today, we're talking about the environmental cost of data centers, plus Big Tech salaries and the Hamptons.

With demand for batteries sky-high, mining companies are eyeing the salt flats of the Andes, where over half of the world's lithium is stored.

The answer depends on a few things. According to a recent CNET article, the average cost of a five-kilowatt solar panel system is around $17,823.

Business Insider's "The True Cost of Data Centers" series explores the impacts — on water, power, pollution, and local economies — of Big Tech's race to dominate a future built on AI.