One of the largest data centers in the country is rising from the parched scrub desert of southern New Mexico. Most county officials are agog at the jobs and investment this high tech mega-project has promised to bring. But many locals are asking: can chile and pecan farming co-exist with [u]Project Jupiter[/u]?
The scale of the project befuddles the brain.
At 1,400 acres, it could swallow New York’s Central Park. With two-and-a-half gigawatts of electricity, it could power more than half of New Mexico. And $165 billion in investment capital—if developers reach that goal—could pick up the tab for 40 Artemis moon shots.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mXBr1ufYh8]
Elephant Butte reservoir is down to 9% of capacity.
Colorado & New Mexico & Texas & Mexico have a treaty on the amounts of water pulled from the Rio Grande.
There are large pecan orchards in Southern New Mexico. New Mexico provides 20% of US pecan harvest. Pecan trees are very thirty and require much water to keep the data center supplied with water likely will require the removal of many acres of pecan orchards. I suppose the argument can be made that pecan orchards should never have been established in the state.
Also world famous Hatch Chile shipped worldwide likely will be impacted also. Now you are on very dangerous ground! You’re screwing around with my red & green Chile sauces. I would prefer EVERY pecan tree be torn from the ground and chopped up for firewood before any reduction in Chile production.
There’s a new twist to the Project Jupiter saga.
Last month, the US Supreme Court approved a sweeping interstate water compact that will take away water rights along the lower Rio Grande. The [u]settlement[/u] will require New Mexico to buy out current water users and retire 9,200 acres of irrigated farmland over the next decade. That is expected to leave more water in the Rio Grande for Texas, which brought the lawsuit.
Google also plans one nearby. They got nice tax breaks on personal property tax on computer equipment but will pay property tax and many benefits to rural community. Also training for local union workers. Big deal in a community on I-70 abt 80 mi west of St. Louis w declining rural population.
Yes, water is abundant in Missouri. Flooding is usually the greater concern. People do worry about water being contaminated but I think that can be managed by permitting.
That’s the attraction. Low humidity is good for electronics. So, they will spend less on dehumidifiers in their server rooms. But residents should probably put a stop to it because the entire southwest is in drought (I’m in Phoenix), and has been for 20+ years. Denver has water restrictions (and has since I was in high school there), and Phoenix may have to implement them, too (reservoir levels are dropping). Building a water-hungry facility is counter-indicated, no matter how much money it may bring.
True. But it’s not as efficient. Especially when the air you’re transferring to is 100+ degrees (pretty typical in the Southwest in summer). And it ramps-up the demand for energy to use a heat pump. Which is why most (all?) datacenters have high water demand.
I have seen photos of data centers w lots of fans on the roof. Similar to home AC fans. Can be done when water is sparse. No doubt operating costs will become important at some point. For now speed of approval and installation is top priority. Funds are readily available.
Elsewhere I posted about how Amish houses are designed for natural convection to keep them cool, no energy required. I wonder if Data Centers can have similar designs. Even if they just cool a bit it all helps.
AI pointed me to
Combining direct and indirect free cooling for data centers via transformation into a building-scale heat exchanger
The other attraction is natural gas to power the data centers. Southeast New Mexico is adjacent to the Permian Basin. I suspect there will be a number of centers built in west Texas.
From what I have seen in the news…it’s not the permitting it’s the lack of enforcement. Now we have Drumpf trying to cancel a lawsuit against Elon for illegal methane generators. (He ignored permitting and just put in dozens of them without telling anyone.)
So…in this world I would NOT rely on the systems to enforce anything.
Yep, that is the weakness of environmental law. Most enforcement is at the state level. And there politics applies. If you have friends in the statehouse, they might overlook a few minor problems. Not get around to visiting your site.