Waste heat from data centers can boost air temperatures in downwind neighborhoods by as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers at Arizona State University report in a new study conducted in the Phoenix metro area, the hottest in the U.S.
The majority of datacenters and datacenter power consumption are not for AI. Before AI no one cared about datacenters. Still no one cares about datacenters that already existed and make up the majority of datacenters. I don’t understand it. Is this just manufactured outrage?
Data centers went from the tens of megawatts range to the gigawatts range because they’re being stuffed with increasingly power hungry AI chips at great density, and they’re also building larger ones. Some of the planned data centers are going to crack 10 gigawatts each. The record electricity consumption rate for my entire country of ~1.3 million people is 1.6 gigawatts in the winter. That includes industry AND multiple non-AI data centers.
So now everyone else has to pay more for electricity in the affected communities, as the demand’s gone up. And water’s going to be scarcer. And they’re literally piping out hot steam at you in already hot areas, to the point that some neighborhoods might become unlivable due to the increased wet bulb temperature.
Luckily, yes, some of the bigger ones are planning on-site gas power plants (and a little bit of solar), but then you’re left asking yourself if more fossil fuel based generation is much better than just driving everyone’s fees up through the grid. It doesn’t drive our electricity costs up, but it’s still bad for the climate.
You do need consent from other people…. That’s the whole point of zoning laws…… which is half the reason why there’s a housing crisis…. I’m a real estate agent and a real estate developer and have been for two decades so I don’t need your childish little fucking opinion on shit. Always some libertarian moron trying to pretend like laws don’t exist everywhere.
Well, you’ve kind of missed the basis of a democracy. You the individual person cast a vote for your council person, right? Usually when we have town council meetings regarding real estate development, individual people do show up and scream.
Thinking democracy actually works and the representatives actually care about the people is very wishful thinking. From my experience they don’t and they haven’t for a long time.
I live in a town of 2,000 people and democracy does work. We get to hooting and hollering on the town Facebook page and we’re tossing a bunch of local officials in a few weeks
Industrial zones are defined by the town council! You should go some time. I used to develop weed grows. Everyone shows up and acts like you’re gonna sell their grandkids drugs. It’s great.
In my country weed isn’t legal. I get what you are saying though. NIMBYs are a problem everywhere. Which makes me wonder why you are saying that these data centers can build wherever. Surely if democracy and local government works as well as you say it does they wouldn’t be able to build anything that big without the say so of the local people, no?
Kind of breaks the social contract to suddenly increase a community’s electricity consumption so much that everyone who lives in it is told to go find their own electricity, don’t you think?
The majority of datacenters and datacenter power consumption are not for AI. Before AI no one cared about datacenters. Still no one cares about datacenters that already existed and make up the majority of datacenters. I don’t understand it. Is this just manufactured outrage?
Data centers went from the tens of megawatts range to the gigawatts range because they’re being stuffed with increasingly power hungry AI chips at great density, and they’re also building larger ones. Some of the planned data centers are going to crack 10 gigawatts each. The record electricity consumption rate for my entire country of ~1.3 million people is 1.6 gigawatts in the winter. That includes industry AND multiple non-AI data centers.
So now everyone else has to pay more for electricity in the affected communities, as the demand’s gone up. And water’s going to be scarcer. And they’re literally piping out hot steam at you in already hot areas, to the point that some neighborhoods might become unlivable due to the increased wet bulb temperature.
Luckily, yes, some of the bigger ones are planning on-site gas power plants (and a little bit of solar), but then you’re left asking yourself if more fossil fuel based generation is much better than just driving everyone’s fees up through the grid. It doesn’t drive our electricity costs up, but it’s still bad for the climate.
People hate data centers because they are being forced into our communities without our consent. Consent. Consent.consent
Most datacenters are not in urban communities they are in industrial zones.
You also don’t need the consent of other people to build things on land you own. Get out of here with this shit.
You do need consent from other people…. That’s the whole point of zoning laws…… which is half the reason why there’s a housing crisis…. I’m a real estate agent and a real estate developer and have been for two decades so I don’t need your childish little fucking opinion on shit. Always some libertarian moron trying to pretend like laws don’t exist everywhere.
Yeah you need the consent of the council for planning permission. Not the consent of the individual people.
I am not a libertarian either, but whatever.
Well, you’ve kind of missed the basis of a democracy. You the individual person cast a vote for your council person, right? Usually when we have town council meetings regarding real estate development, individual people do show up and scream.
Thinking democracy actually works and the representatives actually care about the people is very wishful thinking. From my experience they don’t and they haven’t for a long time.
I live in a town of 2,000 people and democracy does work. We get to hooting and hollering on the town Facebook page and we’re tossing a bunch of local officials in a few weeks
I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been to a town council meeting before.
Would a town council even be involved in an industrial zone which might not even be part of a town?
Industrial zones are defined by the town council! You should go some time. I used to develop weed grows. Everyone shows up and acts like you’re gonna sell their grandkids drugs. It’s great.
In my country weed isn’t legal. I get what you are saying though. NIMBYs are a problem everywhere. Which makes me wonder why you are saying that these data centers can build wherever. Surely if democracy and local government works as well as you say it does they wouldn’t be able to build anything that big without the say so of the local people, no?
If you need the consent to build them then how are they being forced on communities without consent? You are contradicting yourself now.
Clearly you’ve never been to a heated town council meeting over the development of a small duplex. Grow up and participate in your local government?
Kind of breaks the social contract to suddenly increase a community’s electricity consumption so much that everyone who lives in it is told to go find their own electricity, don’t you think?
What do you think the social contract is?