Groundwater Cooling a Green Solution for CSIRO Supercomputer

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constructionOver at the Sydney Morning Herald, David Wilson writes that CSIRO in Australia is using innovative groundwater cooling for its new supercomputer. As a green computing approach, the technology will save natural resources as it powers the futuristic Square Kilometre Array, a giant, supremely sensitive radio telescope.

Really, it is just like a tap flowing with cool water, year-round,” says the CSIRO Geothermal Project’s director, Dr Michael Trefry. Water piped through the Pawsey heat-exchanger is just re-injected back into the source aquifer, 9 degrees Celsius warmer, with no net liquid loss. The green engineering scheme heralds ”a new age in renewable energy”, according to CSIRO – Australia’s national science agency. Certainly, the alternative to conventional cooling towers seems efficient – the organisation will save about 38.5 million litres of water a year.

Read the Full Story or check out this Podcast on the CSIRO project.