5 ms·

Arizona is a place where, with enough investment (like the billions here) power can be extremely green and cheap, with solar. Needing a huge amount of air condi

Arizona is a place where, with enough investment (like the billions here) power can be extremely green and cheap, with solar. Needing a huge amount of air conditioning is not a problem when it coincides with the moment the sun is pouring huge amounts of energy into your solar array.

zwirbl 5y ago
this leaves out the issues with the large amounts of water needed for semiconductor fabrication, although another commenter noted that Arizona has pretty good water management (I guess this includes recycling?)
- minhazm 5y ago
  > Globally, Intel is on track to achieve net positive water use by 2030. Today, in Arizona, we’re already at 95%. https://download.intel.com/newsroom/2021/manufacturing/Intel-in-AZ-Sustainability-Fact-Sheet.pdf https://download.intel.com/newsroom/2021/manufacturing/Intel...
  - lazide 5y ago
    This is PR. Water needs are local, except where it is explicitly part of the same watershed/supply system. 'Net positive' here means 'we help retain a bunch of water over there... <points to other side of state where no one lives and the water isn't captured well>, and use it over here <points to middle of extreme desert with greater outflows than inflows of water into all sources>', and we're net positive!
raverbashing 5y ago
If you can manage to build your solar as to shade your building, your AC costs will greatly diminish as well.
- conductr 5y ago
  This is the first time I've heard this from someone besides me :) I am involved with an effort to plant arbors to shade homes in low income areas of my city so that residents can afford the A/C costs. A typical home we work on has no central HVAC and has 3 or 4 window units running non-stop 6+ months of the year (Texas). Vines are fast growing and shade makes a huge impact!
  - mixmastamyk 5y ago
    Awnings are friendly as well.
cma 5y ago
Semiconductor manufacturing needs constant power aside from AC though, it presumably doesn't stop at night due to high automation and the capital involved.
- Jarwain 5y ago
  Ideally you'd overprovision with solar and use batteries to store the excess energy, to be used at night
  - thehappypm 5y ago
    Arizona is literally one of the best places in the world for solar & storage, they have an unbelievably reliable number of sunny days.

zwirbl 5y ago

this leaves out the issues with the large amounts of water needed for semiconductor fabrication, although another commenter noted that Arizona has pretty good water management (I guess this includes recycling?)

minhazm 5y ago
> Globally, Intel is on track to achieve net positive water use by 2030. Today, in Arizona, we’re already at 95%. https://download.intel.com/newsroom/2021/manufacturing/Intel-in-AZ-Sustainability-Fact-Sheet.pdf https://download.intel.com/newsroom/2021/manufacturing/Intel...
- lazide 5y ago
  This is PR. Water needs are local, except where it is explicitly part of the same watershed/supply system. 'Net positive' here means 'we help retain a bunch of water over there... <points to other side of state where no one lives and the water isn't captured well>, and use it over here <points to middle of extreme desert with greater outflows than inflows of water into all sources>', and we're net positive!

raverbashing 5y ago

If you can manage to build your solar as to shade your building, your AC costs will greatly diminish as well.

conductr 5y ago
This is the first time I've heard this from someone besides me :) I am involved with an effort to plant arbors to shade homes in low income areas of my city so that residents can afford the A/C costs. A typical home we work on has no central HVAC and has 3 or 4 window units running non-stop 6+ months of the year (Texas). Vines are fast growing and shade makes a huge impact!
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  Awnings are friendly as well.

cma 5y ago

Semiconductor manufacturing needs constant power aside from AC though, it presumably doesn't stop at night due to high automation and the capital involved.

Jarwain 5y ago
Ideally you'd overprovision with solar and use batteries to store the excess energy, to be used at night
- thehappypm 5y ago
  Arizona is literally one of the best places in the world for solar & storage, they have an unbelievably reliable number of sunny days.