Thermal imagery from space offers a rare view of heat output from high-load facilities

Booming demand from artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining has been pushing electricity use higher worldwide, putting growing strain on power grids as energy-hungry data centers expand at a rapid pace. 

A high-resolution thermal image released this month by UK-based thermal satellite operator SatVu offered a rare glimpse at activity inside a high-load site, with heat signatures tracing where cooling and electrical systems are under load. 

The image shows a Bitcoin-mining data center campus in Rockdale, Texas. According to the website space.com, Rockdale is home to Riot Platforms’ Bitcoin mine – described as the largest in the US – with estimates putting its power demand at about 700 megawatts, roughly the same as the electricity use of around 300,000 homes. The site has been criticized for its electricity consumption and carbon footprint.

SatVu have released a first-of-its-kind 3.5m resolution thermal image revealing near-real-time operational activity inside one of the largest U.S. bitcoin mining data centres, in Rockdale, Texas.@TheEngineerUK covers the activity

Source: RT - Daily news