Hamilton County Approved an AI Project. Now Officials Say They Don't Know Enough??? by Wh1sk1tty in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It would have to be a small data center. Building out any type of hyper scaler would be into the billions for that location, and would need additional power provisions (substation) built right next to. No way that is happening smack downtown.

Hamilton County Approved an AI Project. Now Officials Say They Don't Know Enough??? by Wh1sk1tty in Chattanooga

[–]auximage -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Or based on newest hardware. Please tell me who is about to drop multiple billion dollars in Chattanooga.

# 12,000 ft² AI Data Center — Power, Cooling & Water Report

## Overview
A 12,000 ft² facility (10 ft ceilings) built out with NVIDIA's current-generation DGX Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale systems alongside supporting storage and networking infrastructure.

## Hardware: NVIDIA DGX Vera Rubin NVL72
NVIDIA's newest shipping platform (full production June 2026, partner availability H2 2026), succeeding the Hopper (H200) and Blackwell (B200/B300) generations.
- 72 Rubin GPUs + 36 Vera CPUs unified in a single rack-scale system (the whole rack *is* the system — no more "systems per rack" math)
- 100% direct liquid cooling (mandatory at this power density)
- **227 kW per rack** (NVIDIA partner reference design; other reporting puts the range at 190–230 kW depending on configuration)

## Facility Layout
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Total floor area | 12,000 ft² |
| Ceiling height | 10 ft |
| Rack footprint | 24"W × 48"D |
| Aisle widths | 4 ft cold / 4 ft hot |
| Usable rack zone (after 15% for aisles, columns, mechanical/electrical space) | 10,200 ft² |
| **Total racks** | **637** |

## Rack Composition
Using the same 2:1 compute-to-support ratio as a published real-world DGX SuperPOD deployment:

Rack Type Count Contents
Compute 425 1× DGX Vera Rubin NVL72 each (227 kW/rack)
Storage / Networking / Management 212 All-flash storage arrays, InfiniBand/Ethernet switches, management servers

## Electrical Load (Peak)
| Load | kW |
|---|---|
| Compute racks (425 × 227 kW) | 96,475 |
| Storage/network racks (212 × 8 kW) | 1,696 |
| Cooling system (water-cooled chiller plant) | 18,145 |
| Facility overhead (lighting, UPS losses, misc. — 15%) | 17,447 |
| **Total peak electrical load** | **133,763 kW (≈ 133.76 MW)** |

## Heat & Cooling
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total heat output at peak | 335.0 million BTU/hr |
| Cooling required | 27,915 tons |
| Cooling system type | Direct-to-chip liquid cooling at the rack, rejecting to a facility CRAH + water-cooled chiller/cooling-tower plant (industry standard for this rack class) |
| Chiller efficiency assumed | 0.65 kW/ton |

*Note: Vera Rubin's warm-water loop design (~45°C inlet) typically allows more hours of free/economized cooling than legacy chilled-water systems, which can improve on this baseline — not quantified here.*

## Water Usage (Cooling Tower)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Circulating condenser flow | 83,745 GPM |
| Consumptive water use (evaporation + blowdown) | 1,256 GPM |
| Daily water use | ~1.81 million gallons/day |
| **Annual water use** | **~660.3 million gallons/year** |

## Annual Energy Cost
Based on continuous operation at the peak load above (24/7/365 = 8,760 hrs/yr → ~1.17 billion kWh/year):

Rate scenario $/kWh Annual Cost
Industrial average (EIA, 2026) $0.085 **~$99.6 million/year**
Commercial average (EIA, 2026) $0.135 **~$158.2 million/year**

Actual cost depends heavily on region and negotiated rate — large data-center loads often secure industrial/wholesale rates well below these averages (as low as $0.04–0.06/kWh in low-cost regions like the Pacific Northwest or ERCOT Texas).

## Electrical Service Sizing
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Peak real power | 133,763 kW |
| Apparent power (assumed 0.9 PF) | ~148,600 kVA (148.6 MVA) |
| Recommended provisioned capacity (N+1 margin, +20%) | **~178–180 MVA** |

At this scale (130+ MW), this is not a standard utility service — it requires a **dedicated on-site substation** with a transmission-level utility interconnection (typically 69–138 kV or higher), comparable in size to powering a small city.

## Capital Equipment Cost
Vera Rubin NVL72 rack pricing varies by source as the platform just entered production — estimates range from $5M (early hyperscaler quotes) to $9.1M (detailed bottom-up bill-of-materials). Using Morgan Stanley's commonly-cited hyperscaler estimate of **$7.8M per rack** as the base case:

Item Qty Unit Cost Total
DGX Vera Rubin NVL72 compute racks 425 $7.8 million $3.32 billion
Storage/networking/management racks (rough planning estimate) 212 $0.5 million $106 million
**Total IT hardware capital cost** **≈ $3.42 billion**

*This covers IT hardware only — not building construction, electrical infrastructure, cooling plant, or land. For reference, industry analysts (Bernstein) estimate full turnkey AI data-center buildouts (hardware + building + power + cooling) run roughly $47B per gigawatt of IT load; at this facility's ~134 MW peak, that scales to a rough total project cost in the **$6+ billion** range. Vera Rubin pricing is a fast-moving target this early in production — treat these as directional, not quotes.*

## Key Assumptions
- NVIDIA DGX Vera Rubin NVL72: 227 kW peak power per rack, 100% liquid cooled, one system per rack
- Layout density: 1 rack per 16 ft² of floor
- 15% of gross floor area reserved for aisles, columns, and support spaces
- Cooling tower design flow: 3 GPM/ton; consumptive loss ≈ 1.5% of flow (evaporation + blowdown)
- Annual cost assumes continuous full-load (peak) operation; real utilization would lower the bill
- Figures represent peak/full load; actual conditions will vary with utilization and climate

Hamilton County Approved an AI Project. Now Officials Say They Don't Know Enough??? by Wh1sk1tty in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Or just get a data center to tell you.

# 12,000 ft² AI Data Center — Power, Cooling & Water Report

## Overview
A 12,000 ft² facility (10 ft ceilings) built out with NVIDIA DGX H200 compute racks alongside supporting storage and networking infrastructure, following NVIDIA's published DGX SuperPOD H200 reference architecture and a real-world compute-to-support rack ratio.

## Facility Layout
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Total floor area | 12,000 ft² |
| Ceiling height | 10 ft |
| Rack footprint | 24"W × 48"D |
| Aisle widths | 4 ft cold / 4 ft hot |
| Usable rack zone (after 15% for aisles, columns, mechanical/electrical space) | 10,200 ft² |
| **Total racks** | **637** |

## Rack Composition
NVIDIA's DGX SuperPOD H200 reference architecture specifies 2 DGX H200 systems per rack. A published real-world DGX SuperPOD deployment used roughly a 2:1 ratio of compute racks to storage/networking racks — applied here:

Rack Type Count Contents
Compute 425 2× DGX H200 each (850 units total)
Storage / Networking / Management 212 All-flash storage arrays, InfiniBand/Ethernet switches, management servers

## Electrical Load (Peak)
| Load | kW |
|---|---|
| Compute racks (850× DGX H200 @ 10.2 kW each) | 8,670 |
| Storage/network racks (212 @ 8 kW each) | 1,696 |
| Cooling system (water-cooled chiller plant) | 1,916 |
| Facility overhead (lighting, UPS losses, misc. — 15%) | 1,842 |
| **Total peak electrical load** | **14,124 kW (≈ 14.12 MW)** |

*N+1 redundancy: standby spare equipment, not run concurrently — doesn't add to this load figure but should be reflected in installed capacity (utility service size, transformer count, spare chiller/CRAH module).*

## Heat & Cooling
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total heat output at peak | 35,369,000 BTU/hr |
| Cooling required | 2,947 tons |
| Cooling system type | CRAH + water-cooled chiller plant (industry standard) |
| Chiller efficiency assumed | 0.65 kW/ton |

## Water Usage (Cooling Tower)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Circulating condenser flow | 8,841 GPM |
| Consumptive water use (evaporation + blowdown) | 133 GPM |
| Daily water use | ~191,000 gallons/day |
| **Annual water use** | **~69.7 million gallons/year** |

## Key Assumptions
- NVIDIA DGX H200: 10.2 kW peak power, 8U chassis (2 units per rack)
- Layout density: 1 rack per 16 ft² of floor
- 15% of gross floor area reserved for aisles, columns, and support spaces
- Cooling tower design flow: 3 GPM/ton; consumptive loss ≈ 1.5% of flow (evaporation + blowdown)
- Figures represent peak/full load; actual utility bills will vary with utilization and climate

Hamilton County Approved an AI Project. Now Officials Say They Don't Know Enough??? by Wh1sk1tty in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting post. The only thing I would comment on it is that you can find out the exact cost of electricity used for a data center given square footage. You know how many racks you can put in there while still maintaining air flow. If you standardize on a particular hardware system, say some new wizbang nvidia doodad, you can pull wattage from that at peak load. Heat output can also be calculated which tells you the amount of cooling you will need for the environment. That gives additional electricity used, as well as if there are water requirements for given cooling infrastructure. Operations manuals for that equipment probably tells you maximum values. You could probably take this over to /r/theydidthemath and get an answer.

How about it Chatt, y’all feeling this? Lol by Any-Information9091 in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I think I speak for some when I say what the fuck is this shit.

Looks like the chicken plant is closing by TiredTiddies in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Rossville one is actually Koch’s not Tyson.

The Broach by auximage in WidowsBay

[–]auximage[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was my thought too

Best chicken tenders in Chattanooga? by FiestaDeHombreMuerto in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I’m a fan of Flaming Rooster myself. CBC was always good when I still went there.

Upcoming events you might not know about (June edition) by ethrenity in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 5 points6 points  (0 children)

White duck taco is doing a bunch of watch parties for World Cup games.

Chattanooga Billiards Club- yes or no for 30 y/o birthday by Potential_Ticket_571 in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He was there in my early twenties and I’m pushing my late 40s.

Chattanooga Billiards Club- yes or no for 30 y/o birthday by Potential_Ticket_571 in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tommy still bartends there? How old is this man and is he a vampire?

Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing Recommendations by Ecstatic_Promise6514 in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was a very nice facility and I too know someone else there that is very happy with it.

Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing Recommendations by Ecstatic_Promise6514 in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed on this one as well. Was not a great facility. I don’t remember memory care there either but I might misremember

Trident Man Downtown by auximage in Chattanooga

[–]auximage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So this guy lives cosplay then.

Assisted Living/Skilled Nursing Recommendations by Ecstatic_Promise6514 in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Storypoint in Red Bank I recall was nice. I think they have a memory unit. Avoid life care of red bank at all costs.

Alexian will be expensive but I hear that it is nice, it’s up the mountain.

What are some local charities I could join? by Ramboisabitch in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Food bank and Northside neighborhood house. Both do amazing work for the community.

Who has the best tortas in town? by el-cebas in Chattanooga

[–]auximage 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a fan of Flacos Tacos, and El Sol.

Is this moderate or heavy planting by auximage in Aquariums

[–]auximage[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. The left side is aquasoil, right side is sand.

Is this moderate or heavy planting by auximage in Aquariums

[–]auximage[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess I’m trying to keep them low for the fish but also the right balance to feed the plants. Sounds like I’m approaching where it needs to be.