Community concern over proposed data center projects in the Uintah Basin prompted Evans Family Media to invite Reed Page, originally from Roosevelt and Director of Gas Operation and Business Development for Summit Energy, to offer answers to the community questions as an informed 3rd party energy expert and one familiar with the 9 Mile Data Center project application. Page confirms that data centers do require large amounts of power to run the computation which is why large data center campuses are turning to producing their own power on-site with natural gas. According to Page, the number going around that a data center requires about 1.5 million gallons of water per day is rooted in data center construction over the last 20 years but is no longer tied to truth. “There’s some that have a little bit of water consumption under the most dire circumstances but the design and the construction they’ve gone to has really gone to Zero water consumption on the cooling side,” shares Reed. “Not just because of water scarcity but mostly because of physics and thermodynamics. So I would say that 1.5 million number is really made up. It’s not really rooted in truth here for the design.” He said there will be on-site culinary water use, probably around 10,000 gallons a day, depending on how many full-time employees are on-site. Responding to further questions about using natural gas as a fuel source, Reed says fortunately there is a lot of natural gas in the Uintah Basin and natural gas that is difficult to get to valuable markets can be used by the data center. When it comes to ozone attainment and EPA permitting, Reed explains that of course the project is obligated to stay in compliance and remain under the outlined thresholds. The interview covers many other aspects of this topic, including the physical size and environmental impact of data centers, the potential impacts on the power grid and power bills, how data centers are funded and the effect on local taxes, what supporting infrastructure is needed, construction timelines, and economic impact including how many jobs are expected during construction and during operation. Listen to the interview by visiting https://www.basinnow.com/public-affairs/.
