Abandoned mine pools could cool AI data centres; one Pennsylvania site handled 30.6 MW

Image Credit: AI generated Scientists found that abandoned mine pools could potentially be reused to cool data centres. They developed a model to estimate how much heat these pools could absorb while maintaining suitable cooling conditions. Their detailed analysis of the Morea mine in eastern Pennsylvania found that its pool could support at least 9.5 MW of heat load with conventional air cooling and 30.6 MW with liquid cooling. The researchers also assessed abandoned mine lands across Pennsylvania to identify other sites that could have enough water surface area for similar data-centre applications.How could abandoned mine pools cool data centresThe study titled ‘Repurposing abandoned mine lands for cooling data centers’ examined surface pools that remain in abandoned mine lands. The researchers investigated whether these pools could act as a source for removing heat produced by data centres.To assess this possibility, they developed a heat-transfer model. It considered how heat could move from the cooling system into the mine pool and how that heat could then be released through the water surface and water leaving the pool.The model was designed to determine the amount of heat a ...