Concerns raised over water usage of proposed $10B AI data center in South Australia
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Summary
The article argues against a proposed $10B, 800MW AI data center in South Australia, claiming it has been approved by the State Government without proper scrutiny or public debate. The main concern is the extreme water consumption required to cool such facilities, with a single data center using up to 5 million gallons of water daily—equivalent to the water needs of a town of 50,000 people. The article warns this will severely limit access to fresh water in the region.
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bskyConcerns raised over water usage of proposed $10B AI data center in South Australiac.orgKey quotes
· 3 pulledA $10B, 800MW AI data center is now planned to be built in South Australia. This notion has been backed by the State Government with no scrutiny, and no public attention.
Access to fresh water is crucial for survival. Having a working AI data center in Australia will greatly limit our access to fresh water.
A singular data center guzzle 5 million gallons of water everyday. This is the same amount of water used by a town populated with 50,000 people, each day.
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