The secret of Google’s data center cost: billions of gallons of water to cool the servers

In August 2019, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association erected a 16-foot pyramid of vessels in its main entrance in Phoenix. The purpose was to show the people of this desert region, how much water they use to promote each gallon and maintain a 120-tag. “We must continue to do our part every day to do,” CEO Warren Tenney wrote in a blog post. “Some of us are still high-end water users who use water wisely to further the options might see a bit ‘.” A couple of weeks ago Google has struck near Mesa a plan for a large data center among the cacti and tumbleweeds. The city is one of the founding members of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, but the water protection has taken a back seat in accordance with the largest Internet companies made us. Google is one million gallons per day ensures the data center to cool, and up to 4 million gallons per day that meets the project stages. If a pyramid of water jugs would extend thousands of feet in Arizona cloudless sky. Alphabet Google builds data centers in the US to power online searches, web advertising and cloud services. The company has for years boasted that these huge computer rooms are filled with energy-saving and environmental protection. But there is a cost that the company is trying to keep the secret. These facilities use billions of gallons of water, sometimes in dry areas, the fight to save the limited public resources. Build “data centers, are everywhere. They must be constructed so as to ensure that no critical resources from poor communities to take water,” said Gary Cook, director of the global climate Stand.earth campaigns, environmental advocacy group. Google holds its use of water to commercial property secret and bars also to lay the company’s officials open consumption. But the information was leaked, sometimes by legal disputes with local suppliers and conservation groups. In 2019 only called Google or have been granted more than 2.3 billion gallons of water released for data centers in three different states, according to online public records and presented legal documents. Disputes may increase the water consumption of the company such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. followed in the booming market of cloud computing. Google has 21 data centers at the time. $13 billion offices and data centers in 2019 after pumping has scheduled this year, an additional $10 billion US to spend. “The race for the data center with him to keep everything is pretty hectic,” Kevin Kent, CEO, said the consulting firm Efficiency Solutions Critical Facilities. “You can not always make the best choice for the environment.” Google often uses the data center near respond rapidly to their Web services to help large population centers. Sometimes this means in the hot and dry regions construction. The treatment unit slightly under heat and water is required to cool them. “We strive to build sustainability into everything we do,” said Gary Demasi, senior director for energy and operations of Google’s site. In Red Oak, Texas, a city “is, we are proud that our data centers are among the most efficient in the world, and we have worked to reduce their impact on the environment, the demand for our products has increased dramatically.” About 20 miles south of Dallas, Google wants as much as 1.46 billion liters of water per year for a new data center by 2021, according to a legal deposit. includes Ellis County, red oak and some other 20 cities, 15 billion gallons has to show for everything from irrigation to residential use, the data from the card to water development almost Texas this year. Many parts of Texas are already seeing a high demand for water, according Venki Uddameri, director of the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech University. “With climate change we expect more prolonged droughts,” he said. “This kind of high intensity operations in local water stress.” The poor city water must compromise between conservation and economic development, and Google is doing a great attraction full of cash. “It ‘s a constant struggle in Texas because they both want,” said Uddameri. Red Oak, Rockett District special program, the federal law to be the only company in the water subjected to the property in August Google a petition with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to strip a local program. Google said the appeal after Rockett that does not support the company’s ability to meet the requirements. If approved, the petition would let Google get water from another provider. Rockett has denied this in a legal response and said that Google is little information on how the water is made available to be used both in its application to the utility and conversations “vague” representatives of the holding company. What Google needs “incessant” made for the program to be evaluated, although whether the water needs of society meet, Rockett said in the submitted legal documents. Google paid Rockett to a report that the utility could provide enough water for the project. This report has given the utility and the Internet company has been pushing to complete, according to Google no. Rockett has brought a case against the official public provision of Texas’ petition for refusing to Google, even if you reject aware of the utility of rights. A Google Drive, Alamo LLC mission is named in the case. Lawyers for Rockett refused to comment on the ongoing case. Google says it is not the only one looking for an alternative to Rockett. Another development in Red Oak is also looking for an alternative water supply, according to the company. The planned data center in Red Oak Google would be the second in Texas. It ‘reached an agreement with the city in the month of July 2019 Red Oak officials residing on Google’s plans ahead of time told by Todd Fuller, the city manager. There was not much concern about the impact of data centers to local resources, including water could have, according to Fuller. “Our water system is quite robust,” he said, adding that the municipality does not use their full water capacity. Red Oak is set to once again above the water use on the site, though. dedicated to one side for water protection, the city says that half of the supply of Dallas water gets and encourages residents to use water due to Dallas’ six tanks should be reduced by 18% increased. Mandatory restrictions of 35% calcium water when these sources be increased. Fuller did not respond to requests for comment on the issue. Google said that the entire water not used that name, but the company needs to ensure enough space for high demand periods are available or when the weather is particularly warm. This is necessary to maintain Internet services reliably, according to the company. Google data center has been the use of water subject of controversy last year in Berkeley County, South Carolina. An environmental group in relation to the company’s request for 1.5 million liters of groundwater a day from what has been He said, it would be a “threat historical” source. The company also worked with Berkeley County Water & Sanitation get 5 million gallons per day from Charleston’s water system. Google said its share of this offer is far less than 5 million gallons per day, with the rest of the larger community. Google has tried the 1.5 million gallons-triple the daily amount to fix currently in Berkeley County in 2016. The Coastal Conservation League problem with the information the rejection of Google’s stock has taken is allowed, as are the additional water. Despite the opposition have the South Carolina Department of Health and the desire for Google environmental control to start a game of some residents. to give the League for conservation DHEC off Google called so much water while asking a local public utility, waterworks Mount Pleasant to reduce his withdrawal from the aquifer over the next four years by 57%. The utility has passed its previous use of peak demand by 25% in May 2019 one of the driest months of last year in Berkeley County, according to Clay Duffie, general manager of Mount Pleasant Waterworks. “It ‘s unfair that DHEC asks us our water intake to reduce, while someone like Google can come to ask three times more than its original permit and do it,” Duffie said. Google has finally supported by its demand for groundwater and a deal with the League as a last resort. The agreement, the company can still collect the ground water, if it is a loss when performing maintenance, or when demand exceeds the available supply of drinking water or rain during the peak activity of users. The Arizona city of Mesa, where Google is planning a 750,000 square feet data center, get half the water from the Colorado River drought-prone. A contingency plan was signed into law last year by the river require a voluntary conservation action to take states employees. Despite this, Mesa officials say they remain confident about future supply, while residents continue to remember to limit water consumption. “We have no immediate concerns,” said Kathy Macdonald, water resources planning consultant with the city. In 2019, Mesa used 28 billion gallons of water, according to Macdonald. City officials expect to reach 60000000000 gallons per year by 2040, a request for Mesa encounter which is, he said. Large companies such as Google, would not be found in the city, if they could not meet their needs for water, Macdonald said. Mesa was in 2019 a regulation supported by the use of large water operations to ensure order and they do not exceed their compensation. Google has struggled for years for reducing the carbon footprint of data centers. Today churn structures much strength computing power used for each watt. In its Environmental Report 2019, the company claimed that its power consumption also makes more water effectively reduced. “Generating electricity requires water, so the less energy we use to power our data centers, the less water we use,” he said. However, experts say the data center there is usually a compromise between water and energy. “When the water consumption falls, increases energy consumption and vice versa,” said Otto Van Geet, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Google is based on “evaporative cooling”, the water evaporates, the processing units to cool the air, data centers stacked inside, according to their environmental report. The most commonly used systems, such as computer rooms conditioners is known, are energy intensive. Evaporative cooling consumes less energy, but the process requires more water. Operators often take the thirst approach because it is less expensive, Stand.earth Cook said. “Water is cheap. In many places, the added energy costs are much higher it.” In an application submitted data center, the company in Henderson, Nevada, in 2018, Google’s considerations included benefits and real estate costs, tax incentives and the availability of skilled labor. Google has paid more attention to water consumption in recent years. It is based on seawater or recycled, where they can avoid drinking water or local network drain. Google also says it saves water by passing through circulation cooling systems multiply. In Mesa, the company is working with the authorities on a water credit program, but said it is to share more information about the first. From 2007 to 2012 Used Google regularly drinking water to cool its data center in Douglas County, just outside of Atlanta. After making the water “for drinking it was not clean enough to be” moved to keep the recycled water to help the company near the Chattahoochee River. It ‘hard to use similar approaches to other data centers because the technology is not always available, according to the company. “The Chattahoochee provide water, public green spaces and recreation for millions of people to drink,” the company said in a blog post at the time. “We are pleased to do our part to create environmentally sustainable economy on the banks of the Hooch.” -With assistance from Mark Bergen.
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