OPINION:
I see a lot of furor over the supposedly massive use of water by data centers. However, no one seems to have explained this other than some comments here and there about “cooling.”
Exactly how is this water used? How about an explanation?
I’ve got a lot of experience in how water is used for the cooling of power plants. It is used for two purposes: removing heat from operating systems and condensing steam back into water.
Most power plants pull gargantuan amounts of water from rivers or large lakes and use it to condense steam in closed systems, but they return that water to the river or lake. The steam seen rising from cooling towers is almost always from evaporative cooling of operating systems by closed-loop cooling.
It’s similar to the way your car’s radiator keeps your engine cool, but water is used instead of air to remove heat. So all you “lose” is the steam, which eventually returns as rain.
I do recall, years ago, there being a large computer center near where I lived in another state. It had a large pond with what I assumed at the time was a rather spectacular decorative fountain in the middle.
Only much, much later did I realize that it may well have been part of a cooling system. But again, any water lost to evaporation would have been minor.
A little light on this subject from data center experts would be greatly appreciated.
W.R. MOORE
Ladysmith, Virginia
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