this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2025
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[–] tal@lemmy.today 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

It takes more work to avoid salt buildup, but you can evaporate saltwater as a place to dump heat, and we aren't gonna run out of saltwater any time soon. 'Course, only so many places have saltwater access.

EDIT: You evaporate enough water for cooling, you can increase rainfall somewhat in the local area, which boosts crop growth measurably. I remember reading an article about nuclear power plants that use evaporative cooling producing that effect.

kagis

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-agricultural-and-applied-economics/article/effect-of-nuclear-power-plants-on-local-crop-yields/5CE7792374CCEF73CCBA9FC39BF131F6

The growing prevalence of clean energy raises the question of possible associated externalities. This article studies the effects of nuclear power plant development (and, as a result, the increased amount of water in the atmosphere from evaporative cooling systems) on nearby crop yields and finds that an average nuclear power plant increases local soybean yields by 2 and corn yields by 1 percent.

[–] Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

The problem with using salt water isn't salt buildup, it's that it's corrosive and will drastically shorten the lifespan of any equipment exposed to it.

[–] UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Also, good luck sourcing salt water in Illinois.

then don't build anything in illinoisi

[–] tal@lemmy.today 4 points 3 days ago

You don't pipe salt water through the data center. You have a heat exchanger that touches the salt water.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

Where is the salt water in Illinois?