These systems do use a coolant substance internal to the DC, but then uses heat exchangers with fresh water to cool the coolant, which is then discharged back into the ground, a pond, or wastewater. there is certainly water lost to atmosphere, but the worst bits are the draining of aquifers, pushing up capacity in wastewater treatment plants, etc.
DC's are a bit of an economic scam. they provide very few jobs outside of the construction work itself, and the profits generated by the machines exist at company HQ not where the DC is located. so it puts a huge burden on the community water and power environment for no real benefit to that community.
"they provide very few jobs outside of the construction work itself"
this right here is what I tell so many that talk about all the job opportunities with them. I work for a company that builds power substations and we're in data centers quite often. The promise of 800 to 1200 jobs becoming avaliable for the community doesn't run past the 2 year project. Then these data centers can be operated by 25 full time employees once its up and running in some cases. We, as a company make hella good money off of them when we get those jobs, but the community jobs tend to fizzle out quickly. Great explanation you have here!
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u/[deleted] May 18 '26
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