Amazon’s $20B data center project plugs directly into a nuclear plant — skipping the grid. Fed regulators are watching.Read more: zurl.co/0o8KG #Amazon #DataCenters #AI #FERC #EnergyPolicy

The World Hit Another Clean Power Record Last Year https://cleantechnica.com/2025/06/02/the-world-hit-another-new-clean-power-record-for-electricity-in-2024/ #renewables #DataCenters

The World Hit Another Clean Power Record Last Year https://cleantechnica.com/2025/06/02/the-world-hit-another-new-clean-power-record-for-electricity-in-2024/ #renewables #DataCenters

#DataCenters #ClimateCrisis #AI

"Data centers are building their own gas power plants in Texas

Abigail Lindsey worries the days of peace and quiet might be nearing an end at the rural, wooded property where she lives with her son. On the old ranch across the street, developers want to build an expansive complex of supercomputers for artificial intelligence, plus a large, private power plant to run it.

The plant would be big enough to power a major city, with 1,200 megawatts of planned generation capacity fueled by West Texas shale gas. It will only supply the new data center, and possibly other large data centers recently proposed down the road.

(. . .)

The project is one of many others like it proposed in Texas, where a frantic race to boot up energy-hungry data centers has led many developers to plan their own gas-fired power plants rather than wait for connection to the state’s public grid. Egged on by supportive government policies, this build out promises to lock in strong gas demand for a generation to come.

The data center and power plant planned across from Lindsey’s home is a partnership between an AI startup called CloudBurst and the natural gas pipeline giant Energy Transfer. It was Energy Transfer’s first-ever contract to supply gas for a data center, but not likely its last. In a press release, the company said it was 'in discussions with a number of data center developers and expects this to be the first of many agreements.'

Previously, conventional wisdom assumed that this new generation of digital infrastructure would be powered by emissions-free energy sources like wind, solar, and battery power, which have lately seen explosive growth. So far, that vision isn’t panning out as desires to build quickly overcome concerns about sustainability."

https://grist.org/energy/data-centers-are-building-their-own-gas-power-plants-in-texas/

CEG, OKLO, and SMR Get Set to Power the AI Boom via Nuclear Energy https://www.byteseu.com/1085017/ #ConstellationEnergy #DataCenters #Nuclear #NuclearEnergy #NuScalePower #Oklo #StandardPower #stock

https://www.europesays.com/2144289/ CEG, OKLO, and SMR Get Set to Power the AI Boom via Nuclear Energy #ConstellationEnergy #DataCenters #nuclear #NUCLEARENERGY #NuScalePower #Oklo #StandardPower #stock

https://www.europesays.com/uk/161437/ Beat the Market Blues With These Leading Cloud Computing Stocks #Applications #CloudComputing #Computing #DataCenters #GoogleCloud #MicrosoftAzure #MicrosoftCorporation #Technology #UK #UnitedKingdom

What #solar? What #wind? #Texas #datacenters build their own #gas #powerplants
On the old ranch across the street, developers want to build an complex of supercomputers for AI, plus a large, private power plant to run it.
The plant would be big enough to power a major city, with 1,200MW of planned generation capacity fueled by West Texas shale gas. It will only supply the new #datacenter, and possibly other large data centers recently proposed, down the road.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/06/what-solar-what-wind-texas-data-centers-build-their-own-gas-power-plants/

History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes! Tech's latest poetry slam features data centers with nuclear dreams - quite the ambitious verse. VC warns we're writing the same bubble ballad we've sung before, just with fancier equipment. Time to check if this rhyme scheme adds up! #Tech #DataCenters

https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/06/05/147208/data-center-boom-may-end-up-being-irrational-investor-warns

The Register: Musk’s smog-belching Colossus datacenter slammed by civil rights group . “As late as April, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) revealed that xAI had deployed 35 gas turbines to power the facility while MLGW completed work on a pair of 150 megawatt substations. It’s estimated that the nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced by these generators could cost county residents upwards […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/05/the-register-musks-smog-belching-colossus-datacenter-slammed-by-civil-rights-group/

glané sur le net IA, presse, data centers et Wall Street: Le Monde signe avec Perplexity, le New York Times avec Amazon. Pendant que l'IA séduit la presse, les data centers attirent les investisseurs.
-- file.png, ACTUALITES https://www.leshumanites-media.com/post/ia-presse-data-center-et-wall-street?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #IA #Presse #DataCenters #WallStreet #Investissement

https://www.europesays.com/2136624/ Britain prepares to go all-in on nuclear power — after years of dither – POLITICO #Budget #Buildings #cooperation #Data #DataCenters #Department #Development #DonaldTrump #EdMiliband #elections #Energy #EnergySecurity #FossilFuels #growth #hospitals #industry #investment #KeirStarmer #Lobbying #nuclear #NuclearPower #parliament #PhilipHunt #Procurement #roads #Scotland #security #Services #TonyBlair #trade #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStates #Wales

Britain prepares to go all-in on nuclear power — after years of dither – POLITICO https://www.byteseu.com/1075661/ #Budget #Buildings #Cooperation #Data #DataCenters #Department #development #DonaldTrump #EdMiliband #Elections #Energy #EnergySecurity #FossilFuels #Growth #hospitals #industry #investment #KeirStarmer #Lobbying #Nuclear #NuclearPower #Parliament #PhilipHunt #Procurement #Roads #Scotland #Security #services #TonyBlair #trade #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStates #Wales

The noise of #BitcoinMining is driving #Americans crazy

Constant hum of fans that cool #DataCenter computers is turning residents against #Trump's pro-#cryptocurrency agenda

Scientists are increasingly linking 'prolonged exposure to #NoisePollution with cardiovascular damage'

By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
published 5 days ago

"The relentless '#MechanicalHowl' of a #cryptocurrency mining facility has become 'the soundtrack to life for hundreds of residents' in #GranburyTX, a small rural town in #Texas, said The Guardian.

" ;It echoes across agricultural land and forests, chasing away deer. It seeps into walls, vibrating bedrooms and dinner tables.' One resident said it was as though a 'jet engine is forever stationed nearby'.

"Bitcoin mining has exploded in the US over the past decade, particularly in the wake of Donald Trump's re-election to the White House and his embrace of cryptocurrency. But it's an energy-intensive process: the powerful computers that create and protect the cryptocurrency need fans on the go constantly to cool them down. And across #rural, mostly #Republican towns, residents are getting sick of the noise – and getting sick, full stop."

https://theweek.com/tech/the-noise-of-bitcoin-mining-is-driving-americans-crazy?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/fnuCT

#AIColonialism #NoNukesForAI #AISucks #WaterIsLife #Enshittification #AIPollution #NoisePollution
#DataCenters #USPol #NoisePollution

#Kentucky is welcoming a #DataCenter boom. But what are the #environmental costs?

by Connor Giffin
April 29, 2025

"Some of the biggest companies in the world are eyeing Kentucky and neighboring states for data center development, as surging interest in artificial intelligence pushes the industry to scour the country for energy, land and water.

"The projects carry a promise of historic investment. Experts say they could also deepen some of Kentucky’s foremost environmental challenges.

"Sprawling data centers have been announced in Jefferson County, across the river in Southern #Indiana, and most recently in Oldham County — where opponents fear a $6 billion proposed project could upend rural character, quality of life and water resources.

"Data centers are critical infrastructure for internet and cloud services, underpinning everything from emails to online shopping. Due to their vast scale of computational power, cooling systems and other operations, large data centers have an insatiable demand for energy.

"The major projects coming to the Louisville area will demand hundreds of megawatts — enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes. Data centers are expected to make up 7-12% of all U.S. electricity consumption by 2028, up from 2% about a decade ago.

"In Kentucky, a small portion of power generation comes from renewable sources, like solar power. Most comes from coal, widely considered the most polluting form of energy, or gas, which also brings emissions with planet-warming consequences.

"With a looming spike in power demand and pressure to meet that demand, advocates fear utilities could turn to highly polluting fuels. But some hope the demand could also push utilities to diversify with more renewables, as data center operators call for as much power as possible, as soon as possible.

"The industry has tried to assuage fears of environmental harm. Some data center operators have indicated plans to use renewable energy or take steps in development to protect waterways and preserve green space.

"State and local officials are welcoming data centers with open arms. The Kentucky General Assembly this year expanded sales and use tax exemptions for 'qualified data center projects' in a bill lobbied by #Google and #Meta."

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2025/04/29/kentucky-welcoming-data-center-boom-with-risk-of-environmental-costs/82755013007/

#AIColonialism #NoNukesForAI #AISucks #WaterIsLife #Enshittification #AIPollution #NoisePollution
#DataCenters

AI's Air Pollution Problem: Data Center Energy Use Adds to Deadly Emissions

Published Dec 12, 2024

"The energy required for artificial intelligence causes air pollution from fossil-fueled power sources, a new study has found, and the authors warn that as AI grows so will the health burden from air pollution unless data centers use cleaner power.

"Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and CalTech project that growing demand for power for the AI boom could result in as many as 1,300 premature deaths and billions of dollars in health costs in the U.S. each year by the end of this decade.

"Despite growth in cleaner energy and progress in pollution controls, many parts of the country still rely heavily on coal and natural gas to generate electricity, and pollutants from power plants such as fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

"The rapid growth of data centers to drive AI will be a major source of demand for electricity and thus a major contributor to air pollution, the researchers said.

" 'These are real impacts that we'll be seeing if we're not taking any actions right now,' UC Riverside associate professor of electrical and computer engineering Shaolei Ren told Newsweek. 'And those are preventable to a large extent.'

"Ren and his co-authors drew on industry data about energy consumption by data centers and used a tool developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to calculate the air pollution and health impacts from the electricity use [that was before the #Trumpian era].

"However, many data centers also rely on backup generators separate from the electric grid. For example, when Elon #Musk launched his #xAI data center in Memphis, Tennessee, in July, it relied on a fleet of mobile generators, raising #pollution concerns among residents there."

Read more:
https://www.newsweek.com/ais-air-pollution-problem-data-center-energy-use-adds-deadly-emissions-2000092

#AIColonialism #NoNukesForAI #AISucks #WaterIsLife #Enshittification #AIPollution #NoisePollution
#DataCenters

AI data centers are making your electricity supply worse and could damage your home, new study says

Katie Balevic, Lloyd Lee
December 29, 2024

"A Bloomberg analysis assessed readings from some 770,000 homes from February to October and found that over 75% of 'highly distorted power readings across the country are within 50 miles of significant #DataCenter activity.'

"Stresses on the power grid can lead to inconsistent power quality, and as the power quality decreases, the risk increases, Bloomberg reported. Inconsistent energy flow can cause #electronics to overheat, leading to sparks or even #HouseFires.

"A small handful of large tech companies own the vast majority of global data centers — and they show no signs of slowing down as they pour billions into building more powerful AI models.

"#Amazon, #Google, and #Microsoft own about 65% of the cloud infrastructure market, which includes data centers, according to a 2023 report from market research firm Synergy Research Group.

"Google announced in April that it's investing $3 billion to build and expand data centers in #Virginia and #Indiana. The search engine giant unveiled its latest AI model, #Gemini 2.0, in December.

"#Amazon, which is a large investor in AI startup #Anthropic, is investing another $10 billion in Ohio data centers, Gov. Mike DeWine announced on December 16.

"Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, said in September that the company has partnered with other investors, including #BlackRock, in a $100 billion energy infrastructure project. The project will include 'new and expanded data centers,' the company said.

"To meet AI's increasing energy demands, companies like Google have also started turning to #NuclearPower to find more reliable and sustainable energy sources."

https://www.aol.com/news/ai-data-centers-making-electricity-195931626.html?guccounter=1

#AIColonialism #NoNukesForAI #AISucks #WaterIsLife #Enshittification #AIPollution #NoisePollution
#DataCenters

Has the Great Lakes Compact been disolved or are States going rogue? Awful lot of Data Centers going up on the shores of our greatest resource. Would love to hear from concerned residents from: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and you too, Ontario and Quebec!

There's typically a big to-do when any straws go into the lake, but I'm not seeing much debated here in Wisconsin.