#waterconsumption — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2026-07-18 · 22:15 UTC

Double harvest: #raspberries and #RenewableEnergy - #FruitLogistica

Excerpts: "Based on current findings, strawberries do not thrive under #SolarPanels, so this combination of crops does not have a promising future. This was the conclusion of a Wageningen University study on fruit cultivation beneath #photovoltaic systems.

Strawberries grown beneath solar panels with 25 to 50 per cent light transmission experienced a significant drop in yield – by 25 to 30 per cent.

The situation was quite different for raspberries, however: under solar panels with 40 per cent light transmission, the harvest yield fell by only five per cent, and the quality of the fruit remained unchanged. At the same time, the panels reduced evaporation and water consumption, protecting the berries from burns and heat peaks.

The scientists also expect positive effects on #WaterConsumption and protection against #ExtremeWeather conditions.

[...]

One clear advantage is that raspberries are currently grown under rain protection films that have to be replaced every five to seven years. This equates to a significant amount of plastic that would no longer be required if solar modules were used instead. And they last at least ten years."

Full article:
https://www.fruitlogistica.com/en/blog/double-harvest-raspberries-and-renewable-energy.html

#SolarPunkSunday #SolarFarms #Solar #RenewableEnergy #RenewablesNow #Agrosolar #Agrovoltaics #SolarPanelAgriculture #SolarOnFarms #SolarEnergy

#raspberries #renewableenergy #fruitlogistica #solarpanels #photovoltaic #waterconsumption

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2026-05-23 · 02:05 UTC

Tribune editorial: The voice of the people has pushed #Utah leaders to stop and think about massive #DataCenter. Keep it up.

This is an issue that has united people across the political spectrum.

By The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board
| May 22, 2026

"The fear that a ginormous, water-guzzling, air-befouling, weather-modifying data center planned for Utah’s northwest corner was a done deal seems to be easing just a bit. It’s not hard to see why.

A handful of key state officials are now promising that, before the project actually gets built — if it ever does — the appropriate environmental reviews, with opportunities for public comment, will happen.

"That doesn’t mean that the people who have stood up to what appeared to be a pre-greased mega-project can rest easy. Vigilance and activism are what have worked so far, and will be necessary going forward. As long and exhausting as that process might be.

"It will take a lot of continual public outcry to counterbalance the monied interests pouring campaign contributions into the coffers of Utah Senate President #StuartAdams and other powerful worthies who have been pushing the plan.

"Few Utahns had any inkling that a little-known state agency called the Military Installation Development Authority (#MIDA), which Adams chairs, had put its weight behind the #StratosProject, a proposed data center that would, at full build-out, generate and consume twice as much electricity as the whole state of Utah.

"The Box Elder County Commission had to sign off on the project before the MIDA board could take over all land-use, water, energy, environmental and tax-abatement authority over the 40,000-acre project — immune from any democratic oversight.
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"Despite loud public objections, online and in person, commissioners did exactly that. Given that the land is privately owned, not part of any city and not zoned for any particular use, commissioners argued they really didn’t have the power to stop it.

"But others do."

#UtahPol #KevinOLeary #WaterConsumption #HeatPollution #ResistDatacenters #WaterIsLife #ThermalPollution #HeatGeneration
#Drought #GreatSaltLake
#Environment #EnvironmentalCatastrophe #Datacenters #DatacentersSuck
#SharkTank #AISucks

#utah #datacenter #stuartadams #mida #stratosproject #utahpol

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2026-05-20 · 01:10 UTC

#Georgia #DataCenter Secretly Used 29 Million Gallons of Water, Exposed by Residents’ Low Water Pressure

By Staff Writer
May 11, 2026

#FayettevilleGA — "A major #datacenter campus in Fayette County, Georgia, drew nearly 30 million gallons of water through unmetered connections before the issue surfaced due to complaints of low water pressure from nearby homeowners, county officials said.

"The discovery, first reported by Politico, centers on the sprawling 615-acre #QTSDataCenter development located about 20 miles south of #Atlanta. #QualityTechnologyServices (QTS), owned by #Blackstone, operates the site, which is one of the largest data center projects in the United States.

"Fayette County investigators found that the campus had been pulling water through two connections the county was unaware of and had not properly billed. As a result, QTS was issued retroactive charges totaling $147,474. County officials estimated the unmetered usage covered roughly four months, while the company maintained the period was between nine and 15 months.

"Vanessa Tigert, director of the Fayette County Water System, attributed the oversight to an administrative error that occurred during the county’s transition to smart meters. [I call BULLSHIT!]

" 'Fayette County is a suburb, it’s mostly residential, and we don’t have much commercial meters in our system anyway,' Tigert said. 'And so we didn’t realize our connection point wasn’t working.'

"A QTS spokesperson confirmed the company paid the retroactive charges immediately upon notification and said the unmetered usage stemmed from the county’s meter system upgrade.

"No fines were issued. County officials emphasized they are maintaining a cooperative relationship with the developer.

"The Fayetteville campus currently includes 13 buildings encompassing approximately 6.2 million square feet. It is part of a larger planned development that could eventually include up to 16 buildings.

"The incident highlights growing tensions nationwide over the resource demands of data centers. Communities across the U.S. have become increasingly vocal about the strain these facilities place on local water supplies and electrical grids, leading to heightened opposition to new projects.

"In a separate but related development, an Indianapolis City-County Council member’s home was shot at in April shortly after he supported rezoning for a data center project. The attack on Ron Gibson came days after a 6–2 vote approving the nearly 14-acre facility in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood."

Source:
https://www.georgiarecord.com/business-ga/2026/05/11/georgia-data-center-secretly-used-29-million-gallons-of-water-exposed-by-residents-low-water-pressure/

#ResistDatacenters #Datacenters #WaterIsLife #AISucks #DatacentersSuck #EnergyHogs #NoisePollution #WaterConsumption #Secrecy