...use massive amounts of electricity, but had not heard they were guzzling our scarce water too. Ain't that just peachy? AI, something that regular folks might never use, sucking up all the power and water. To what end? So we can be lied to by robots?

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

They run too hot for air cooling

Who knew?

But what actually happens to that water? Surely it doesn’t just evaporate? Or is it being horribly polluted by being pushed through oily pumps?

Maybe it could be reused for fracking

Or if it’s coming out hot after cooling the data center, maybe that’s the water for the hot shower!

Nearly all big building air conditioning systems use cooling towers to cool the refrigerant by evaporation.

They are looking to build one about 40 miles from my home and the cost of electricity in that area (I am lucky - different power supplier) had skyrocketed in the last year to the point where people simply could not pay their electric bill. I think they might have blamed the increase on increased demand. Wait until this data center is built. Everyone knows what will happen yet no one ever seems to stop them from being built. Money talks, politicians roll over - and I live in a Blue state.

They just announced they wont have a ground breaking ceremony at the google data center here. I guess nobody wants associated with it

It takes 2,803 gal/MWh of water for electricity produced by natural gas, and 96 gallons for coal, but a whopping 9,185 gal/MWh for electricity produced by coal. But electricity produced by solar or wind uses essentially zero water.

Then there's the heat generated by the huge servers which have to be cooled – by water, of course.

All while the Texas legislature and the federal government under Trump are undermining the use of renewable energy, but encouraging a return to dirty coal.

Hot, dry, wasteland in no time.

Levied on every degree / 1000 cubic feet of water they warm. Thats gonna destroy other things- so they need to pay their fair share of the global warming damage.