19 votes

Anger mounts over environmental cost of Google datacentre in Uruguay

7 comments

  1. [3]
    Hobofarmer
    Link
    So not only will it be an active pollutant, it's also going to earn the country... Nothing? What's in it for Uraguay?

    The datacentre would be in a tax-free zone, he added, the company not pay tax.

    So not only will it be an active pollutant, it's also going to earn the country... Nothing?

    What's in it for Uraguay?

    12 votes
    1. CptBluebear
      Link Parent
      You should ask what's in it for the person that approved it.

      You should ask what's in it for the person that approved it.

      12 votes
    2. skybrian
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      "Nothing" is a bit of an exaggeration. Presumably Google isn't being given a free data center - they pay for the construction, maintenance, and electricity. Steady payments from a big electricity...

      "Nothing" is a bit of an exaggeration. Presumably Google isn't being given a free data center - they pay for the construction, maintenance, and electricity. Steady payments from a big electricity customer might be used to fund more renewable energy, or other things.

      Also, I'd guess that people in Uruguay use Google and other websites that are hosted by Google's data centers. There are some advantages to having one nearby, like lower latency.

      Edit: but are they paying enough for electricity? The article doesn't say.

      7 votes
  2. [4]
    balooga
    Link
    I remember, years ago, reading about proposed offshore undersea data centers that directly tap the ocean waters for cooling. Was that just a pipe dream? Seems like the kind of thing Google ought...

    I remember, years ago, reading about proposed offshore undersea data centers that directly tap the ocean waters for cooling. Was that just a pipe dream? Seems like the kind of thing Google ought to be pursuing, instead of this.

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      Bwerf
      Link Parent
      This thing maybe? https://tildes.net/~tech/1h6v/microsoft_shelves_its_underwater_data_center_project_natick_had_fewer_server_failures_compared_to
      6 votes
      1. [2]
        balooga
        Link Parent
        Ah shoot, yeah that’s the thing I was thinking of. I had missed this headline though.

        Ah shoot, yeah that’s the thing I was thinking of. I had missed this headline though.

        4 votes
        1. bitwaba
          Link Parent
          Based on the projected power consumption from another article I found it looks like this is going to be a 60-70 megawatt data center. The Microsoft underwater data center test was just shy of 1000...

          Based on the projected power consumption from another article I found it looks like this is going to be a 60-70 megawatt data center.

          The Microsoft underwater data center test was just shy of 1000 servers. That's in the 0.5 - 1 megawatt range.

          6 votes