Do we really need to keep slamming the grid and killing the planet for pseudonymous casino chips?
Can someone please merge crypto with llm training/inference somehow?
Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
11–20 of 131 posts
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#12Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem with that is one of the best things we have to control pollution at power plants is the rules that go into place when connecting to the US grid (I know TX is different). I really don’t want to incentivize private power plants that aren’t on grid. Or just running tons of industrial sized generators instead. If we’re going to allow enough of this stuff to be built that it can destabilize things why not requ…
Ban private fossil generators above a certain size without a license. You can just do things. They can build as much solar and batteries as they want. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-confirms-1... https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-announces-...
SpaceX is running a bunch of “portable”, high pollution gas generators in Memphis, TN specifically to get around the regulation you’re describing.
Elon definitely got the “you can just do things” memo.
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#14I’m curious how this works for other large consumers. Do they have some kind of artificial load that lets them gradually reduce consumption instead of doing it all at once?
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#15How about an across the board $1/W hook up fee for new customers? Thats about the price of installed capacity per watt.
New house with 200 A panel an assumed 30% utilization rate? $3600.
New data center with 80% utilization rates at 100MW? $80 million dollars.
New 10 GW data center? That'll be $8 billion.
It's outrageous that I'm paying an extra fee to export energy to a neighboring state to power a datacenter.
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ban private fossil generators above a certain size without a license. You can just do things. They can build as much solar and batteries as they want. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-confirms-1... https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-announces-...
SpaceX is running a bunch of “portable”, high pollution gas generators in Memphis, TN specifically to get around the regulation you’re describing. Elon definitely got the “you can just do things” memo.
Right, that’s what I was thinking of when I wrote my comment. Regulate back. If there is no will to do so, well, that’s a choice. Write the law, pass the law, aggressively enforce civil and criminal penalties for violations. They haul gas generators in without a license? Confiscate and tear them down for scrap (which will be painful, as these turbines are in short supply and their manufacturers are backlogged years into the future), in accordance with law you pass. Hold the utility liable if they provide a fossil gas pipeline connection. Humans like Elon may not care, but utilities have something to lose. Find “one throat to choke” as the saying goes.
It is not politically easy, but it is logistically straightforward.
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#17This sounds like a good reason to have a lot of batteries.
A lot would probably be an understatement. Aren't most batteries in data centers designed to just hold load for seconds or a few minutes at a time while generators start up?
If the problem is an instant disconnect of a large load, switching that large load into charging batteries at that instant, for a minute or so, feels like a solution.
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#18I’m curious how this works for other large consumers. Do they have some kind of artificial load that lets them gradually reduce consumption instead of doing it all at once?
If you're large enough your connection to the grid is a negotiation with an engineering team.
The utility will force you to put equipment to correct for power factor (massive capacitor bank), resistive load, etc.
The utility also charges commercial users for apparent power (includes reactive power, or that sloshes around setting up a steady state), as opposed to just real power charged to residential users.
EDIT: in case your wondering, yes resistor loads is just glorified bunch of short circuits and a fan.
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#19This sounds like a good reason to have a lot of batteries.
More scarce resources used to feed the surveillance state's fancy chat bots
Re: Texas grid flags risks as data centers, crypto sites fail voltage tests
#20I’m curious how this works for other large consumers. Do they have some kind of artificial load that lets them gradually reduce consumption instead of doing it all at once?
No. I imagine they are less sensitive and generally stay online and are only de-energized if the utility has an outage