These chip plants take a ton of water. Not enough goes into Gibbons. You can say cooling water all you want, but the amount they use is just too much.

Nothing has been announced yet. Gibbons creek and I think 4 other sites are in the running

normaleagle05 said:

---

Seems like conjecture. I haven't seen any estimates of what Terafab is likely to consume, let allow a comparison of what flows into Gibbons/who owns those water rights.

Do you have any of that information?

---

No idea what they are going to need to use for Terafab, but the current water right for the reservoir is held by Gibbons Tract 1, LP for use of all of the impounded 32,084 acre feet of water in the reservoir for non-consumptive use, and a right to consumptively use up to 9,740 acre feet per year. Looks like they are currently leasing that 9,740 acre feet to Dow Chemical via bed and banks transmission, but I have no doubt they can break that lease if wanted.

oklaunion said:

---

I think they could pump in water from the Navasota.

---

How about NO!

A few things to keep in mind re: data centers and water.

1) The most expensive ongoing operating cost for the data center is power usage. The amount of power used is almost directly related to the amount of heat generated. The amount of heat will dictate the amount of cooling needed. Over time, a major driver of successful operation of data centers will be how much they can minimize their power usage, and therefore their heat generation and cooling needs. So what we see today for power/heat/water usage per unit of compute is likely to be a worst case that will go down over time. Not all of the data centers being built today will ultimately be economically successful. The ones that are least successful at minimizing their power usage will likely be the first to fail economically.

2) There are other ways to do cooling besides just consumptively using fresh water. At some point, if they want a data center (or fab) in a specific location for other reasons, even if there is not economically feasible supplies of fresh water, there are still other options for cooling that can be used to make the location work. Again, minimizing the power usage will minimize the heat, which will minimize the cooling needs.

Most but not all and there aren't any requirements forcing them to go closed loop.

Again, what I am told, they have been in search and testing for 12 years on cooling. They have some pretty interesting claims from back in 2016 that I would call groundbreaking with some sort of gel. But why is it not being used and we still are using all the water. Kind of where I talk about the half truths and what can you believe. I'm thinking they 1. Have to provide their own power. 2. Be on the coastline and use desalinated water.

oklaunion said:

---

Why would it be any different than what TMPA did with the water? Suck it in to cool the heat-generating parts, discharge it into the lake on one end and suck up cooler water to complete the process.

I used to hunt within 3 miles of the TMPA electricity generating plant. It was not quiet. We could hear the roar at all times. I used to watch which way the smoke/vapor out of the towers was blowing so I could pick my hunting stand before arriving on our place outside of 244. The loudspeakers were also heard 3+ miles away. It was never quiet.

---

The big difference of course is this would provide billions more to the local economy.

We are turning Earth into Coruscant.

Sooooooo..... if data centers require soooo much power and soooo much water....then they should have to have their own power generation and water source. Being the power grid is already marginal and water sources are so so sensitive to communities these two seem to be the major major hurdles to construction. So couple thoughts on how to make these road blocks into benefits.

Couple scenarios:
1- If you have to build a power plant anyway....build an entire city. Base the entire power consumption on 12v. Every roof has photovoltaic. Every car is electric. Data center served by the power. The pv and battery storage in the cars acts as the stable power grid. Sell the homes as the whole package of comes with an electric car or two and noone gets an electricity bill ever. Nice big lake all the way around for intake and output water. Tech goobers would buy in to all of it so make it all the tech value add they like....12v low voltage wiring and power system are cheap. Everything built for DC power. Dont even need a licensed electrician for the wiring and build.

2-Geothermal power is the among the cheapest power on earth. Thats why huge electrical draw operations are in Iceland for example. Aluminum recycling for example takes a huge amount of electricity so barges from all over the world sail to Iceland for that process...... use the data center similarly as a thermal power plant. Build it on a glacier....use the heat to melt ice for cooling and water make up....and use the heat for thermal power generation for whatever process makes sense....heating buildings or a heat intense process like a forge or whatever high heat melting process.

3-Isnt some of this handled by satellites? How much of a data center has to be manned? So just make a PV powered data center satellite and launch that thing. However many times they are needed. Infinite power and cooling. Most will say too expensive. Well 3/4 of the cost of ownership of a building comes AFTER construction is complete. This would front load those costs and have very little post construction cost. And no local opposition to construction as they as they are seeing now.

Just seems to me if you could make these big roadblocks and opposition to construction a benefit then they would be supported instead of delaying construction and massive local opposition. What do I know.... im just a simple dock rat boat captain....

I am working on one data center where they're building a solar farm next to it. It will supply power to the data center and then sell the excess back to the grid

Badace52 said:

---

Chip factories are one thing, but we don't have the water resources for these data centers in texas. Most of south Texas is in a water emergency the city of Corpus is assessing heavy fines for people who use more than 40% of what they consider to be the "normal" monthly water usage for that area. Rockport and Port A are in the same boat.

---

Is this a proof reading problem? There is no way this is accurate.

highvelocity said:

---

I am working on one data center where they're building a solar farm next to it. It will supply power to the data center and then sell the excess back to the grid

---

Does this include govt subsidies?
And the power sold back to the grid is sold at what value?...basically sold back at whatever cost the grid can generate power for (NOT what they sell it to us for)? Or?

I was hoping for sultions to take up less productive footprint not add dead acreage in otherwise healthy landscape.