[rswail]

> I suppose you could condense the evaporated water somehow by using a chilled umbrella or some other ridiculous contraption above the cooling tower, but why would you do that?

Specifically to reduce the ongoing demand for water.

DCs need to get to net-zero on their energy requirements and their water consumption.

They are already losing their political license to operate because they're not.

That's independent of the noise and other impositions on the local communities.

For a DC to be politically acceptable it must be:

* Net zero emissions on energy consumption, preferably powered by renewables in addition to the existing local supply.

* Net zero on water consumption, especially fresh/drinking water from local supplies.

* Low to no noise or other pollution.

[quickthrowman]

To quote the great Jeffrey Lebowski, “That’s just like, your opinion, man.”

You may think these are necessary things to do, but data centers are being built as we speak that are not net zero on energy or water consumption. That’s reality.

It would be ideal if data centers had net zero energy and water consumption, don’t get me wrong. That won’t happen without legislation, and even then legislative efforts will be a patchwork that won’t cover everyone due to some politicians selling out their constituents.

[rswail]

That's the current reality and people are realizing that they are being ripped off in their local communities, which will result in an already beginning backlash against datacenters and particularly AI datacenters.

I don't think this will change in the US, because your governments have been totally corrupted and you have much bigger problems than datacenters.

It will/is happening in more enlightened/democratic jurisdictions.