Comment on Even the U.S. Government Says AI Requires Massive Amounts of Water

ohwhatfollyisman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

• tal@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  They can!

  en.wikipedia.org/…/Palo_Verde_Nuclear_Generating_…

  The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona[5] about 45 miles (72 km) west of downtown Phoenix. Palo Verde generates the most electricity of any power plant in the United States per year, and is the largest power plant by net generation as of 2021.[6] Palo Verde has the third-highest rated capacity of any U.S power plant. It is a critical asset to the Southwest, generating approximately 32 million megawatt-hours annually.

  At its location in the Arizona desert, Palo Verde is the only nuclear generating facility in the world that is not located adjacent to a large body of above-ground water. The facility evaporates water from the treated sewage of several nearby municipalities to meet its cooling needs. Up to 26 billion US gallons (~100,000,000 m³) of treated water are evaporated each year.[12][13] This water represents about 25% of the annual overdraft of the Arizona Department of Water Resources Phoenix Active Management Area.[14] At the nuclear plant site, the wastewater is further treated and stored in an 85-acre (34 ha) reservoir and a 45-acre (18 ha) reservoir for use in the plant’s wet cooling towers.

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  • Cort@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Lots of corrosion from sea water tho. Maybe a heat exchanger that gets regularly replaced would work, but then you lose cooling capacity

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  • ohwhatfollyisman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    awesome! so there is scope to literally piss all over AI where does one sign up?

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