If I am not mistaken, the reason those data centers are close to the dams/et. al., is because it is a lot cheaper for them to get the power a short distance away from where the power is generated. That plus the solar and wind power potential is much better there than on this side of the Cascades. I think they can also tap into the river for cooling?
That's part of it. The other part is the subsidies from the state and local jurisdictions that makes certain locations more attractive to big business.
And I would bet that land/etc. is a LOT cheaper than it is in the Willamette Valley, or anywhere west of the Cascades for that matter.
The reason for Data Centers being located in Bordman, Umatilla, Prineville, The Dalles, etc is the fact they are geographically located in an arid climate where they can take advantage of low humidity and evaporative cooling rather than mechanical cooling. Mechanical cooling (chillers) are expensive due to their high energy consumption. There are exceptions to the rule, but in Oregon, VAData (Amazon), Google, Facebook and Apple are all located east of the Cascades. There are a couple small data centers over in the Beaverton & Hillsboro areas that we have worked on, but nothing like the magnitude of those places mentioned above.
You might be surprised about that. Smaller dams (mostly private utility owned) have been breached. Snake River dams are continually up for review. Columbia River dams might be safe, but don't count on it. Many people are against the dams. More than it took to kill nuclear power in the us. I am not an expert in PNW hydropower. But, considering where I am sitting as I type this, I so have some intimate knowledge of hydropower. I don't see the Columbia River dams being breached due to the locks and the Commerce that involves. But, never say never.
Never say never is a good axiom, but having spent considerable time working on, in and near the Columbia (from the mouth to the Canadian border) and the Spokane and the Snake rivers, and knowing people who work/worked on the dams (including my father), I am fairly confident the big dams on the major rivers are not going anywhere. The Columbia and Snake were not dammed just for power, they were also dammed for flood control, and as you pointed out, transport/commerce.
This pic is of the substation I am currently working in and the big building behind it is a data center. This is in Hillsboro.
115kV?
Yes, and some servers in that data center are probably running software that I wrote.
The batteries are the most expensive part from what I have read, at least on a per KWH basis and over their lifetime.
It the trees are in the way, you could use a backup battery system that charges from the grid. You wouldn't be able to top them off without a generator, but you could use a much smaller generator to top them off.
I don't mean the trees block solar panels, I meant trees falling cut the power.
Honestly, I'd go with a generator. It'll be cheaper than batteries. If you go with propane, you'll need to increase the size by 25% as opposed to diesel just make sure you get a transfer switch.
I want to have everything be able to run long term off-grid though. Solar would be more expensive, especially the batteries, but the batteries will last about 10 years, where a 1K gallon propane tank would last about 2-4 years for hot water alone.
If you're not moving, then see below.
EVs are self cleaning.
Story checks out.
www.google.com
www.wsj.com
