I did not know Arizona was a contender for AI Data Centers. Don't they have water and drought issues already?
toomuchtodo•1mo ago
Indeed, the Salt River Project nuclear generator uses reclaimed sewage water for cooling.
ben_w•1mo ago
Probably, given it's famously a desert, but the water issues for DCs are a meme rather than the actual limiting factor even in Arizona's case.
Last time this came up in an HN discussion, I looked at the sources and noticed that all 108 DCs in Arizona combined currently use about as much water as about 3k residents: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45952965
How big is the rejected new DC compared to all the existing ones combined? I could believe just about anything in the current bubble, but that's where we're at for the existing ones.
cheald•1mo ago
It's already home to the largest nuclear power plant in the continental US (Palo Verde), and there are essentially no natural disasters to contend with.
nephihaha•1mo ago
How do we square "net zero" with energy-guzzling data centres?
simianwords•1mo ago
Is this what NIMBY means?
lotsoweiners•1mo ago
If so then call me a NIMBY. Not a Chandler but in Gilbert, the town next door. No need for data centers here or anywhere else around here either.
simianwords•1mo ago
where would you like them to be?
simianwords•1mo ago
Why do they want to open data centres in this area though? Seems like there might be better places. What's the incentive for this particular place?
karakoram•1mo ago
toomuchtodo•1mo ago
ben_w•1mo ago
Last time this came up in an HN discussion, I looked at the sources and noticed that all 108 DCs in Arizona combined currently use about as much water as about 3k residents: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45952965
How big is the rejected new DC compared to all the existing ones combined? I could believe just about anything in the current bubble, but that's where we're at for the existing ones.
cheald•1mo ago