4 ms·

Datacenter waste heat even a problem? I only ever heard of nuclear power plants waste heat being a problem when the cooling water is dumped directly into rivers

Datacenter waste heat even a problem? I only ever heard of nuclear power plants waste heat being a problem when the cooling water is dumped directly into rivers (instead of the ocean).

newsclues 4mo ago
Waste heat is a problem for cities, why not a large DC? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island
- zulban 4mo ago
  Even the largest DC doesn't have anywhere near the waste heat of a city.
  - imglorp 4mo ago
    One of the larger DCs is 7.65 GW on 8000 acres in Texas. It will radiate around 236.3 W/m^2 (compare vs 1000 W/m^2 solar irradiation). This emission continues 24/7/365, while the sun doesn't. So yes, the UHI is real. That plus all the gas turbines powering it which release many tons of gasses. And finally all the infrasound from the DC and its generators have impacts on humans and all creatures for many miles away. Oh and the water consumption.
    - post-it 4mo ago
      > One of the larger DCs is 7.65 GW "is" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The data centre doesn't exist.
thinkingtoilet 4mo ago
Yes. The hot water the datacenters dump destroys local ecosystems.
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- vlan0 4mo ago
  That's interesting...I don't think I've seen the data to support this
  - stonogo 4mo ago
    Probably not an accident; see Kim. Data Center Cooling Water Discharge: Assessing Environmental Transparency and Information Gaps, 32 Hastings Envt'l L.J. 177 (2026) But the work is out there, for instance Miara et al. Thermal pollution impacts on rivers and power supply in the Mississippi River watershed, Environ. Res. Lett. 13 034033 (2018) Worthington et al. The effects of a thermal discharge on the macroinvertebrate community of a large British river: implications for climate change. Hydrobiologia 753, 81–95 (2015) Lukšienė, Sandström, Lounasheimo, and Andersson. The effects of thermal effluent exposure on the gametogenesis of female fish. Journal of Fish Biology, 56: 37-50 (2000) Penk and Williams. Thermal Effluents from Power Plants Boost Performance of the Invasive Clam Corbicula Fluminea in Ireland's Largest River. Science of The Total Environment, vol. 693 (2019)
    - deleted 4mo ago
      [deleted]
    - vlan0 4mo ago
      Mmm yeah...just straight releasing the water isn't ideal. But of course, it's free! And that's what society optimizes for, sadly.
- boxed 4mo ago
  Citation?
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - 4mo ago
brohee 4mo ago
In the most nuclear country, France, power plants can't rise the river temperature by too much legally and yes it is an issue in summer with less water flowing.

Datacenter waste heat even a problem? I only ever heard of nuclear power plants waste heat being a problem when the cooling water is dumped directly into rivers (instead of the ocean).

newsclues 4mo ago

Waste heat is a problem for cities, why not a large DC? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island

zulban 4mo ago
Even the largest DC doesn't have anywhere near the waste heat of a city.
- imglorp 4mo ago
  One of the larger DCs is 7.65 GW on 8000 acres in Texas. It will radiate around 236.3 W/m^2 (compare vs 1000 W/m^2 solar irradiation). This emission continues 24/7/365, while the sun doesn't. So yes, the UHI is real. That plus all the gas turbines powering it which release many tons of gasses. And finally all the infrasound from the DC and its generators have impacts on humans and all creatures for many miles away. Oh and the water consumption.
  - post-it 4mo ago
    > One of the larger DCs is 7.65 GW "is" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. The data centre doesn't exist.

thinkingtoilet 4mo ago

Yes. The hot water the datacenters dump destroys local ecosystems.

deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
vlan0 4mo ago
That's interesting...I don't think I've seen the data to support this
- stonogo 4mo ago
  Probably not an accident; see Kim. Data Center Cooling Water Discharge: Assessing Environmental Transparency and Information Gaps, 32 Hastings Envt'l L.J. 177 (2026) But the work is out there, for instance Miara et al. Thermal pollution impacts on rivers and power supply in the Mississippi River watershed, Environ. Res. Lett. 13 034033 (2018) Worthington et al. The effects of a thermal discharge on the macroinvertebrate community of a large British river: implications for climate change. Hydrobiologia 753, 81–95 (2015) Lukšienė, Sandström, Lounasheimo, and Andersson. The effects of thermal effluent exposure on the gametogenesis of female fish. Journal of Fish Biology, 56: 37-50 (2000) Penk and Williams. Thermal Effluents from Power Plants Boost Performance of the Invasive Clam Corbicula Fluminea in Ireland's Largest River. Science of The Total Environment, vol. 693 (2019)
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - vlan0 4mo ago
    Mmm yeah...just straight releasing the water isn't ideal. But of course, it's free! And that's what society optimizes for, sadly.
boxed 4mo ago
Citation?
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- 4mo ago

brohee 4mo ago

In the most nuclear country, France, power plants can't rise the river temperature by too much legally and yes it is an issue in summer with less water flowing.