Startup execs showcase tech solutions to ease public concern over data centers
Startup executives from SPAN and Epic Cleantec presented technological solutions to address public concerns regarding data center power and water consumption during a panel discussion in the San Francisco Bay Area. This comes amidst local controversy, as over 300 residents in Pittsburg, California, expressed outrage at a City Council meeting over a recently approved 347,740-square-foot data center project, citing its significant water and electricity demands.
Startup executives convened at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association to discuss innovative solutions for mitigating public concerns over data centers' environmental impact, particularly regarding electricity and water usage. Chris Lander, vice president of XFRA at SPAN, an at-home data center developer, advocated for utilizing existing home grid capacity to power small, self-contained data centers, offering compensation to consumers. Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO and co-founder of Epic Cleantec, emphasized the development of "closed loop" water recycling technologies, proposing to reuse water from neighboring buildings for data center cooling.
The discussion took place as public opposition to data center development intensifies, exemplified by a recent City Council meeting in Pittsburg, California. More than 300 residents voiced outrage over the 2024 approval of a 347,740-square-foot data center by developer AVAIO, slated for the former Delta View Golf Course site. Concerns focused on the project's projected 96 megawatts of power consumption and daily water usage, despite plans for recycled water cooling and the inclusion of 37 diesel-fueled backup generators.
Both Lander and Tartakovsky acknowledged the necessity for the data center industry to seriously address public concerns. They expressed optimism that technological advancements, spurred by significant AI investment and political pushback, could resolve these issues. They also called for policymakers to incentivize the development and scaling of such sustainable solutions, despite the public's current lean towards moratoriums on data center construction.