Technology
Disclaimer: Everything here is speculation based on the site characteristics, available utilities, and the developer’s past history. This will all be refined or adjusted once we see the plan. And much of this technology is new so I’m learning as I go.
Cooling
The type of cooling selected will have a direct impact on potential noise and water consumption. Of all the device types in an AI data center, typically less than 10% of them are actual AI processor systems. There will be more conventional servers and a lot of networking (routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers) but most of the devices will be for storage and backup. The non-AI devices will be cooled with a cold aisle/hot aisle system. This means cold air (60-75 degrees) is forced down to the aisle that is on the front side of the devices. The air flows through the devices and is drawn out the back to the hot aisle which could reach 100 degrees. AI devices might have a closed-loop system where a coolant (like antifreeze for your car) is circulated through the device to cool the chip. The majority of the cooling will use either an evaporative chiller or compressor system. The chillers would use a lot of water, compressors will use a lot of electricity.
Water
Again, depending on the type of cooling, 1 million gallons of water a day could be possible. There is almost no chance they would use any underground water source since the river is available. The Schuylkill River flow rate would make this volume insignificant. (I would need an expert to verify but USGS monitors the flow and I think it varies between 300 million and 1.3 billion gallons per day.) Our Data Center Ordinance requires review and approval from the Delaware River Basin Commission for anything over 100,000 gallons.
Noise
You won’t hear noise from inside the data center so this external noise from cooling systems is what you might hear. We set pretty low decibel limits for any noise but I suspect the ambient noise will already be higher than those levels even without the data center. The site is next to 2 major highways, a river, a landfill, and other industrial uses. And other than a couple residences down 724 the closest housing is Grill and Flying Hills – both about 1.5 miles from the site. If you can’t hear the highway noise now, you probably won’t hear anything from the data center.
Power
The very initial announcements seem to indicate the data center would connect to grid power because of it’s proximity to transmission lines and the South Reading Substation. They will need a redundant substation so they might build one onsite.
Backup Power
They will also need a temporary power source if the transmission lines are down. This is usually provided by onsite generators (diesel or natural gas) with enough fuel to run for 48 hours. However I’m learning about new technology using BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) that might change the generator requirement.
BESS (Battery Energy Storage System)
If commercial power is lost, there is a short gap before the generators kick in, usually just a few minutes. BESS systems bridge the gap so there is no disruption of power. In the old world (2 or 3 years ago) the battery systems would be tons of lead-acid batteries tied to power distribution units. Some industries are starting to use lithium-ion batteries but there is a higher risk of thermal runaway and fire. There is a newer technology using a Flow battery. This is where there are 2 sources of liquid, one charged positive and one negative stored in separate tanks. The two liquids then flow together creating a charge. This can be configured with a lot of capacity and has the advantage of consuming power during off-peak periods and storing it to offset peak periods. It can also compensate for surges in consumption and possibly eliminate the need for generators. This is fine as long as the BESS only relies on commercial power and not on power generated onsite.
Onsite Power Generation
This is the scary part. Go Energy built it’s foundation on renewable energy sources and they plan to power their Spain location with alternate power. Go Energy seems to be very heavy into Ammonia and Hydrogen production and using them as an energy source. Essentially, Hydrogen is used to power fuel cells to create electricity. It seems the hydrogen itself could be a major explosion and fire risk, but it gets worse depending on how the Hydrogen is provided. It is possible Go Energy would create Green Ammonia (hopefully somewhere else) by separating water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. Then combining the Hydrogen with Nitrogen to produce Green Ammonia. The Ammonia would then be transported to the site. This is where it is very significant that the rail station at Titus was reactivated in 2024. The Ammonia could be transported via rail car to the site. The Ammonia is then separated into Hydrogen and Nitrogen using catalytic cracking. (Still learning about this) Any Ammonia leak is considered a hazmat event requiring a 1.4 mile evacuation radius.