3 ms·

U.S. tech giants building data centers in Chile. Locals fighting back

13 points by jrepinc 2y ago

credit_guy 2y ago
They don't want new datacenters because they consume water and Chile is in the middle of a drought. Makes sense. But here's something that makes less sense: the list of golf courses in Chile [1]. By my count more than 70. You know what keeps the golf courses green and lush? Water. Plenty of it. In fact, on average a golf course needs 25% more water than a Google datacenter ([2], [3]). [1] https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/course-directory/8623-chile/ https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/course-directory/862... [2] https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+much+water+does+a+golf+course+need+%3F https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+muc... [3] https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+much+water+does+a+datacenter+need https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+muc...
- polski-g 2y ago
  The unfortunate thing about water is that after you use it to hydrate a golf course or cool a data center is that it's lost forever.
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    Is that sarcasm? Not sure how easy it would be to reuse gray water from these sources. Ocean water is salty and corrosive, so there isn't an infinite supply of fresh water in practical terms.
galdosdi 2y ago
The first photo of the activists gathered shows not one but two of them scrolling on their phones during their meeting -- phones powered by data centers. Seems ironic. I don't mean to imply their cause may not be righteous just because of this -- it's OK to feel the internet is nice, but that it's OK for it to a bit slow, as it would be if the nearest DC is far away. Just pointing out that by their own behavior they at least admit they consider this infrastructure to have public utility, and now the argument is merely about details of whose backyard it should be in
yumraj 2y ago
Why can’t DCs recycle the water after cooling via heat exchangers? They should only really use whatever is lost via normal evaporation.

13 points by jrepinc 2y ago

They don't want new datacenters because they consume water and Chile is in the middle of a drought. Makes sense. But here's something that makes less sense: the list of golf courses in Chile [1]. By my count more than 70. You know what keeps the golf courses green and lush? Water. Plenty of it. In fact, on average a golf course needs 25% more water than a Google datacenter ([2], [3]). [1] https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/course-directory/8623-chile/ https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/course-directory/862... [2] https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+much+water+does+a+golf+course+need+%3F https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+muc... [3] https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+much+water+does+a+datacenter+need https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+muc...

polski-g 2y ago
The unfortunate thing about water is that after you use it to hydrate a golf course or cool a data center is that it's lost forever.
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  Is that sarcasm? Not sure how easy it would be to reuse gray water from these sources. Ocean water is salty and corrosive, so there isn't an infinite supply of fresh water in practical terms.

galdosdi 2y ago

The first photo of the activists gathered shows not one but two of them scrolling on their phones during their meeting -- phones powered by data centers. Seems ironic. I don't mean to imply their cause may not be righteous just because of this -- it's OK to feel the internet is nice, but that it's OK for it to a bit slow, as it would be if the nearest DC is far away. Just pointing out that by their own behavior they at least admit they consider this infrastructure to have public utility, and now the argument is merely about details of whose backyard it should be in

yumraj 2y ago

Why can’t DCs recycle the water after cooling via heat exchangers? They should only really use whatever is lost via normal evaporation.