Southwestern Ohio has quietly become the green-tech revolution in a tale that seems like the plot of a science-fiction novel but is all too real. The First completely geothermal-powered underground data centre is located in an old coal mine, serving as a reminder of the state’s industrial history. The plant became operational last month and is already attracting the attention of big tech companies seeking sustainable ways to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
The concept began with a rather basic one. Local engineers discovered that the mine’s underground temperature was consistently around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, an ideal natural cooling system for thousands of high-performance servers.
No huge air-conditioners. No millions of gallons of water wasted. Rather, a closed-loop geothermal system circulates water underground, extracts heat, and converts it into clean energy. The surplus power is also reintroduced into the local grid, helping illuminate the homes in communities that lost their jobs when the mines shut down many years ago…