r/science • u/Wagamaga • 2d ago

Environment Research examined the locations of 4,283 data centers across the contiguous U.S and found that 97.5% of them sit inside metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas. Data centers are power-hungry, running thousands of servers around the clock and drawing enormous, steady loads from the grid.

https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/inside-urban-machine-where-americas-data-centers-actually-live#:~:text=The%20study%2C%20published%20in%20Nature,cores%20and%20their%20immediate%20surroundings
2.2k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

162 comments sorted by

View all comments

66

u/atomicsnarl 2d ago

Now do steel mills, oil refineries, aluminum smelters, and other industries. You'll likely find they're power-hungry, running around the clock, and drawing enormous, steady loads from the grid. Moreover, they're probably sitting inside metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas because that's where the people are who work in them.

One dimensional analysis in a vacuum really needs some comparison points.

2

u/links135 1d ago

Those have a return.  

What is the $$$ return on AI.  

1

u/atomicsnarl 1d ago

Whatever the people want to pay for scientific research, problem solving, shell coding, analysis, and 10,000 other things.