Just from an engineering perspective, is there a dumber place than Phoenix to build a data center? I guess the cost-saving perspective always wins out.
Elon Musk keeps flogging the idea of putting datacenters in orbit, where you’re surrounded by hard vacuum and the only way you’re getting rid of heat is via radiation.
I don’t know about the viability of Phoenix, but I will say that space is probably about the worst possible place to put sensitive hardware that’s heat-constrained.
See, you’re not thinking like a tech CEO. What we call “an egregious blight on the climate”, they call “externalities” — that is, someone else’s problem.
Water shortages haven’t stopped data centres from being built in countless other places. Meanwhile, consumers are stuck facing the consequences of such foolish construction, in the form of higher bills and in some places, temporary water shutoffs to manage demand
If you believe Danny Seiden, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, we got plenty of water for growth, almost infinite growth, and businesses will somehow magically solve our problems by their “innovation”. First interview in the video link. Fuckin asshat.
Just from an engineering perspective, is there a dumber place than Phoenix to build a data center? I guess the cost-saving perspective always wins out.
Elon Musk keeps flogging the idea of putting datacenters in orbit, where you’re surrounded by hard vacuum and the only way you’re getting rid of heat is via radiation.
I don’t know about the viability of Phoenix, but I will say that space is probably about the worst possible place to put sensitive hardware that’s heat-constrained.
Presumably he intends to mash the bodies of the poor against it in a continual stream of poverty slurry
Totally unviable. https://youtu.be/_qpdUNMt2yg?is=FBh734DAR2NsD-pT
Best video on this discussion.
Land, taxes, and energy are cheap there.
An arid place like Phoenix is useful for increasing the efficiency of evaporative cooling, which many data centres use.
Ah yes, that famously water-conserving cooling method. Remind me again where Phoenix gets its water supply?
See, you’re not thinking like a tech CEO. What we call “an egregious blight on the climate”, they call “externalities” — that is, someone else’s problem.
Water shortages haven’t stopped data centres from being built in countless other places. Meanwhile, consumers are stuck facing the consequences of such foolish construction, in the form of higher bills and in some places, temporary water shutoffs to manage demand
If you believe Danny Seiden, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, we got plenty of water for growth, almost infinite growth, and businesses will somehow magically solve our problems by their “innovation”. First interview in the video link. Fuckin asshat.
https://azpbs.org/horizon/2026/08/growth-in-arizona-and-impact-of-colorado-river-water-cuts/