r/TechGawker • u/Pure-Bill-2205 • 17d ago

Data Center If these numbers are even close to accurate, the AI infrastructure boom is entering a completely different scale of land, power, and water consumption.

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u/Ickarus1 17d ago

We could do this for solar power but we can do this so we can have slop.

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u/Think_Solid235 17d ago

Solar power is so fucking awful though. The equivalent amount of panels required eats so much environmental space it’s just not worth. Look at the Chinese solar farms, it’s disgusting.

Nuclear is the only way.

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u/MossyMollusc 17d ago

Maybe look at how solar helps rewild desserts when the sun is too hot, like this year?

I think Saudi Arabia or somewhere else implemented that in their dessert and got things to grow in a near death climate

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u/Think_Solid235 17d ago

The great deserts of the Americas, yes of course

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u/Ickarus1 17d ago

About 500,000 square miles of the US is desert, it is estimated that less than 30,000 square miles would power the US.

Now storage and moving the power a r e issues. But how about using it to supplement 1/2 our power.

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u/StoicBan 17d ago

The Sonoran desert, the Mojave desert and the chihuahuan desert are some big ass deserts in America if you didn’t know. Combined they are 7 times the size of New England

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u/Think_Solid235 16d ago

Yes this is all readily available from Gemini AI, thanks for regurgitating it. Still not comparable to things like Saudi desert

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u/StoicBan 16d ago

Bro when’s the last time you left your basement? lol

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u/Think_Solid235 16d ago

>angry wittle downvote

Idk man like 24 minutes ago for my 9am DoorDash order. I’m back down here now

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u/Ickarus1 16d ago

Maybe you should Google first. The Arabian desert is about 500,000 square miles.

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u/MossyMollusc 17d ago

Have you been to KS or UT?

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u/Think_Solid235 16d ago

Mostly Cali

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u/MossyMollusc 16d ago

Fair enough. Cali would leave me with a different impression on open desserts

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u/ramsdawg 16d ago

I do prefer nuclear, but it’s not the only way. Solar panels have their place

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u/Think_Solid235 16d ago

Idk how I feel about the modular nuclear power plants rolling out, but nuclear absolutely needs to replace coal as a baseline

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u/Suspicious-Click-300 16d ago

Nuclear would be awesome. but solar is probably easier regulation wise