I’ve read several places that these data centers are being built and that they will require HUGE amounts of power (and water for cooling too). Then it says that the power company’s customers (you and I) will end up having rates increased significantly as a result. WTF?
Why are WE gonna foot the bill? Is it ostensibly for the build-up or infrastructure? Or are we gonna be billed monthly for their power consumption?
I just don’t understand it….how can everyone else be billed for these AI data centers, and not the companies building them? To be clear, I don’t care if it’s only for initial build-out and infrastructure or monthly usage, I don’t want to pay a friggin’ dime for anything AI-related, especially when others are making $$$ hand over foot using it.
I fvcking hate and despise AI. If I were king for a day I’d eliminate it completely. It will be our downfall. I also am repulsed by the smarmy fvcking faggots using it to make videos thinking they are being cute and putting something over on someone. Try watching a YouTube history/military themed video….you’ll want to bash their heads in.
Governments think these data centers are critical to future war readiness. How, I’m not exactly sure. But the government wants it and ahead of anyone else and doesn’t care how it gets there. So Gov-Corp is happy to let regular people pay for it.
It feels like the old atomic or space-race. I don’t know to what end.
As a general rule, public utility commissions and state laws require capacity upgrades, technology upgrades, and infrastructure improvements to be borne by the utility. The utility is then able to present these costs to the commission for consideration when asking for a rate increase. Ideally this is intended to prevent utilities from charging these costs directly to new customers thereby hampering growth. As a general rule, the utility is usually only allowed to charge for the direct cost of connecting new development to existing infrastructure.
I have personally installed a lot of new power infrastructure to various types of development (including data centers). I could go into a lot more detail about the “how” of it and who bears which costs, but that probably wouldn’t help much.
Another wrinkle in this is that local governments often compete to attract development, especially larger or more “high profile” developments. In addition to the utility rules, the locals will often waive development fees, offer terms of tax relief, and occasionally even share in the development/planning costs to attract some developments.
”Ideally this is intended to prevent utilities from charging these costs directly to new customers thereby hampering growth.”
Therein lies the rub. I couldn’t care less if AI’s growth is hampered, it is a cancer that needs to wither and die, let alone me be forced to pay for it. But hey, that’s just me. If I build a new house, guess who’s paying to run the line from the street to the house? (Hint: it’s not everyone else.)
So since you’re evidently “in the know” on this subject, you’re saying these deals with utilities are like a town offering tax breaks to a new company so they build a new factory (or whatever) in their community? I can see an economically depressed area wanting new jobs and economic growth, but this AI garbage offers nothing of the sort for the people paying these increased rates. I will also note that this seems to be being done on the “down-low”, like sneaky. I think these utilities know damn well that people are gonna have an issue paying higher rates (which, like everything else, will never come down) for this garbage; there’s no tangible benefit.
Another difference is that if a municipality gives tax breaks, etc. to a company to build a factory then it will be the people in that tax base who ultimately absorb it. Building an AI data center through some hose-the-customer deal will affect a much wider area financially than a municipality alone.
I have also read where if there are rolling blackouts these data centers will be exempt. YOU can sweat in 98 degree August temps but that data center will stay nice and cool. Of course if that happens very much they better post armed guards on power supply lines/boxes to those speshul data centers.
I understand your grievance, but the utility rules are not designed for that type of granularity. Picture if you will, an area that has hit capacity. In terms of generation, distribution, and/or import line capability. They need to build production capacity, sub-stations, and upgrade distribution infrastructure. Not to mention the possibility of upgrading capacity of the connections to outside sources in order to provide redundancy and import capacity. In this scenario, if new growth was forced to finance the improvements, then that is going to stifle all growth.
As to the rest, I don’t claim to know all the ins and outs of the incentives and deal making. I build stuff, so I have some limited experience at the edges that’s all.
Rates will increase for the consumer significantly -it’s already happening in those areas with the big data centers. The power companies love it just like all of the grow houses in the states where it’s legal (not sure how that works, since still Fed illegal - Oh right it’s about $$$), big customer expense year round instead of having to wait until summer A/C rates crank up the profits.
Utility companies do have to deal with some local and Fed mandate BS where they can lose a lot on the initial expenditure to implement and only gain back a % of what the government forced them to do via EPA /Greeny BS.
I am invested in 2 companies that are going to supply energy to the AI companies. Some of them are going to generate their own energy. Some localities are requiring that they do their own.
What is stupid is why put a facility in the desert where there isn’t much water?
FWIW, there are such a thing as data centers that do not cool with water. It’s becoming a thing.
There are even server rack refrigerant systems that cool each individual rack independently. Complex as hell, but kind of interesting. PITA to install. Oddly enough if a rack is not filled to a certain capacity with equipment they will install a load bank to generate some heat. Don’t quite know why, not my lane.
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In TN they are trying to pass laws prohibiting raising the rates to help the AI centers. Elon Musk is building a big data center near Memphis. He is going to use turbine generation that run on natural gas. People down there are pissing and moaning about air quality and the like.
I am invested in Duke, FPL (Nextera) and other power companies. I have a mutual fund that is energy based investing.
Maybe looking into who is building the turbines for the data centers might be a good thing?
I am invested in a NG pipeline company going from West Texas to Arizona for data center
What about thorium power generation? Might need to look into that. Allegedly safer than nuke plant, built faster and smaller.
That datacenter has been running illegally on turbines for like a year or two. Allegedly. My understanding is that they were prohibited from installing them for whatever reason so they were like, whatever, they’re on trailers and that’s not installed, technically. So I think there’s a legal battle with that, and people are pissed off about the air quality impacts.
As far as buying stock in companies that make turbines, be aware that the market is forward-looking and people have already thought of this. Maybe that sector will continue to grow, maybe it won’t.
If I build a new house, guess who’s paying to run the line from the street to the house? (Hint: it’s not everyone else.)