Why don't they just build them near the oceans or something??\
AStonesThrow•9mo ago
It may be instructive to ponder a while the objectives of data center placement.
Placing a data center on the coast will leave it sitting next to a large swath with no network connectivity and no land-based customers or waypoints, unless there are undersea cables.
You'll also be vulnerable to storms and flooding and all the various types of natural disasters endured by coastal dwellers. The land is expensive, yet shifting beneath your feet.
I suppose you're envisioning cooling just by dint of pumping in seawater and circulating it around? I'm not sure it works that way! The seawater may start too warm, and even just the air is wont to corrode electronics in unfavorable ways.
All things considered, I would say that a coastline is the least desirable placement for a data center. But being that I live in a thirsty urban desert that's approaching Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome status, please do not open a gigantic chip fab and new datacenters here, either!
sigwinch•9mo ago
> “Is the increase in tax revenue and the relatively paltry number of jobs worth the water?” … “It is incumbent on city councils to think very carefully and examine the trade-offs.”
In the American West, the reliability of their source of water limits the buildout of a city.
cranberryturkey•9mo ago
AStonesThrow•9mo ago
Placing a data center on the coast will leave it sitting next to a large swath with no network connectivity and no land-based customers or waypoints, unless there are undersea cables.
You'll also be vulnerable to storms and flooding and all the various types of natural disasters endured by coastal dwellers. The land is expensive, yet shifting beneath your feet.
I suppose you're envisioning cooling just by dint of pumping in seawater and circulating it around? I'm not sure it works that way! The seawater may start too warm, and even just the air is wont to corrode electronics in unfavorable ways.
All things considered, I would say that a coastline is the least desirable placement for a data center. But being that I live in a thirsty urban desert that's approaching Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome status, please do not open a gigantic chip fab and new datacenters here, either!