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Really? What are some similar sized projects? An alfalfa farm in the desert, for example, employs almost nobody, pays nothing in taxes (may even be a net consum
by jeffbee 1y ago
Really? What are some similar sized projects? An alfalfa farm in the desert, for example, employs almost nobody, pays nothing in taxes (may even be a net consumer of taxes due to subsidies) and consumes 100x-1000x the water. These are the direct tradeoffs for new Nevada data centers.
- bitmasher9 1y agoFarming alfalfa in the desert has to be one of worst business ideas I’ve read.
- jeffbee 1y agoAnd yet ... Nevada has > 120000 hectares under irrigated cultivation for hay.
- troyvit 1y agoThat is truly stupid, but is putting a data center there any less stupid?
- jeffbee 1y agoIt is a bit less stupid, yes, because of the abundance of energy. The same reason it makes sense to make batteries and cars and stuff in Nevada.
- troyvit 1y agoCool I didn't know that Nevada had any abundance of energy (and it's practically a neighbor). I was thinking of water issues surrounding cooling and stuff, as well as data delivery to get information off those 120k hectares. Still, I can see how it's much easier than hay making.
- jeffbee 1y agoNevada has two major energy assets: the sun[1], and a huge wire that runs from the Pacific Northwest to Los Angeles[2]. 1: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/libraries/gis/high-res-images/solar-annual-ghi-2018-usa-scale-01.jpg https://www.nrel.gov/docs/libraries/gis/high-res-images/sola... 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_DC_Intertie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_DC_Intertie