Ulanqab hub

Alibaba Cloud · Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, China

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The resource footprint

Modelled average

In one day, this campus consumes about

6.650-metre swimming pools

Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.

The actual estimate4,361,784 US gallons consumed

50-metre pools · 2 metres deep

Each diagram = 1 pool. Partial shading shows the remainder.

At the campus922,184 galMaking its electricity3,439,599 gal

Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.

At current operating capacity · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.

Comparison sizes & sources

One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.

One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.

One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.

Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.

Water: see the numbers and sources

This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.

Total water use1,592M gal/yr

Evaporated on site337M gal

Making the power1,255M gal

Household comparison19,901homes, at 80,000 gal/year

Pressure on local water: High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
Where the water comes from: Municipal potable supply
Cooling: Free cooling most of the year on the Mongolian plateau
Basis: Modelled from cooling design — WUE 0.50 L/kWh

Air: see the numbers and sources

The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.

Nitrogen oxides1,336t/yr

Sulphur dioxide1,130t/yr

Fine particulates193t PM2.5

Health (EPA)$159M/yr

Health range: $54.4–159 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
Statistical deaths: 13.3 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
Equals: 1,669,766 cars of NOx
Where it burns: China — Inner Mongolia
Generation mix: Coal 66 · Wind 21 · Solar 9
Diesel backup: Diesel backup is not yet counted for this campus, so on-site air figures are a floor.
CO₂e: 1,503 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

The project, approvals and community concerns

Who asked for it: Alibaba — self-build, plus Chinese state and enterprise customers
Who approved it: Designated a national hub under the 'East Data, West Computing' plan; NDRC sets a PUE cap of 1.25 for new national-hub builds
What it serves: Alibaba Cloud north China region and Qwen model training
IT capacity: 300 MW current capacity / 700 MW full-build scenario

China's policy deliberately moves compute to the cold, windy north — which cuts cooling energy but places it on one of the most coal-heavy grids on the planet. The carbon per unit of compute here is roughly four times Finland's.

coal-heavy gridwater-stressed basin

Keep this guide handy

41.0200°, 113.1300°

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Quote or share these estimates

Gigawatt Ledger (2026). Ulanqab hub: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/ulanqab/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.

Include the estimate’s date, whether it describes current or proposed capacity, and its uncertainty. Get an embeddable card.

Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.