You might not think much about data centers, but they’re a pervasive part of your life.
Not only do they power much of the tech we constantly use, but there are a lot of them in Nevada. And there may soon be more.
The first data center, built in the 1940s, was called ENIAC. But these huge processing and storage facilities really took off with the advent of cloud computing in the early 2000s.
Today, experts estimate that 5,100 data centers operate in the U.S. Nevada has somewhere between 40 and 50, with about half in and around Las Vegas and the remainder around Reno and Carson City. Through 2030, the number nationwide is expected to grow by almost 25 percent per year.
That’s great for anyone who uses the power of AI chips in cloud computing ... which we all do online, whether we realize it or not.
There is, though, a cost to this convenience.
To operate, data centers require enormous amounts of electricity. Not only to run the massive machines, but to cool them. And they’re cooled with water.
It raises questions for Nevada, still in the grips of a near-30-year drought. How efficiently are data centers with our precious water? Where will all the necessary power come from? More solar fields in the desert? A return to coal-fired energy plants?
In late January, the Reno City Council approved a new data center, but there was opposition. Soon after, the Reno Planning Commission asked the council to approve a resolution pausing the adoption of more data centers. They want to, quote, “take a proactive and thoughtful approach” to understanding the impacts of data centers.
Meanwhile, in Clark County, the county commission last year approved a permit time extension for a 400,000 square foot data center.
Guests: Marilyn Kirkpatrick, commissioner, Clark County; Olivia Tanager, director, Sierra Club Toiyabe; David Colborne, information technologist and writer
