Comment by rmah
1 year ago
14,975,435MWh for one year (8760 hrs) = 1709 MW load. Or about 1.7 mil servers using 1kW each (total, including its share of data center cooling). That's a lotta servers.
Another way to look at it.. they say they have about 3.14 bil daily active users across all platforms. So that's about 13Wh per daily user session. At $0.15/kWh, that's about $0.002 of electricity which doesn't seem that horrible.
It also corresponds to 2-3 nuclear reactors.
I am also not shocked. But somewhat surprised by the choice of unit in the article.
> It also corresponds to 2-3 nuclear reactors
One reactor, if you use a modern design! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPR_(nuclear_reactor)
(Or maybe 2 anyway, to deal with downtime)
One might argue that the EPR is actually a bit too big and thus has become a lot more difficult to build
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What is the output of the three reactors worth of electricity? Hot takes and shit posts ?
the newest 4 nuclear reactors in the USA produce 4500 megawatt hours. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogtle_Electric_Generating_Pla...
these are newer and more efficient. so they are likely producing more than the average reactor. So its closer to 1.25 reactors worth of electricity.
but data centers are a HUGE driver of electricity consumption.
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> So that's about 13Wh per daily user session
Plus ~1/2000th of a server, divided by the life time of a server on their premises in days. Let’s say a millionth of a server. At $1000 a server, that adds about $0.001 a day, if my math is correct. Actual numbers may be higher. What do they pay for their hardware, at the scale they buy it?
Plus installation and management, plus the cost of the building.
1.5 B$ per year at $0.15/KWh.
Some of those servers are located in north Sweden, where electricity is cheaper (for now [1])
I expect it to be even cheaper for example on Iceland with an abundance of hydro power.
[1] They are also trying to redefine steel-processing there and that will use a lot of electricity if they succeed.
>3.14 bil daily active users
That's about 2 in 5 people on the planet. Astonishing.