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County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

404media.co

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Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#121

Post by nonethewiser »

CaliforniaKarl wrote: post #111
jonas21 wrote: post #29

This is in Virgina, which passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020. This mandated that Dominion (the power company) transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045. Personally, I think this is a good thing in the long run, but in the short run, it means that Dominion has had to invest a lot in building out renewable projects that haven't come online yet. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab recently did an analysis on ele…

I'm surprised that the 404 Media article does not mention anything about this. At least, searching for the word "Clean" did not return any results.

The article is shit.

- electricity costs are rising

- there are many data centers

- claims data centers raise costs

- never actually shows how these new data centers are driving up electricity costs

Funny. They imply causation but never show it. If they had evidence that data centers caused this 25% increase, or a large percentage of it, dont you think they would show it?

Actually, you could write the exact same article but sub out data centers with the clean energy rollout.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#122

Post by dylan604 »

conductr wrote: post #99
fluorinerocket wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes there are a bunch of terrible ideas in this thread. Video camera controlled lights? Yes f privacy of everyone to save a few bucks? well I think that was sarcastic Motion controlled lights are always timed badly, incredibly annoying to have them switch off when you are sitting still working or taking a duece. How about the janitor shuts off the lights after everyone goes home?

How about just forget about this thread and don’t let it be a major annoyance. It’s a very minor annoyance. It would be a more widespread debate/discussion if so many people were upset by it. At the least, just admit you’re in the minority that are so upset by it and then just live with it anyways. I say that to make a point about magnitude of annoyances. Sure it’s annoying. So are potholes. It does seem like a sligh…

Potholes are much more than just an annoyance. They can damage your car. Not sure where you live that potholes are mere annoyances, but where I'm from they can be quite large. To the point calling them potholes is stretching the definition. My mom used to joke that she wanted to throw in some water and a loaf of bread into some of them in case someone fell in. They can pop a tire, bend/crack a rim, and they can definitely break steering rods.

The easier thing to do with motion timers would be to only enable them not during work hours. All of the other logic you want to program in them is something easily done today, but definitely not as long as they've been around.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#123

Post by Legend2440 »

CaliforniaKarl wrote: post #111
jonas21 wrote: post #29

This is in Virgina, which passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020. This mandated that Dominion (the power company) transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045. Personally, I think this is a good thing in the long run, but in the short run, it means that Dominion has had to invest a lot in building out renewable projects that haven't come online yet. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab recently did an analysis on ele…

I'm surprised that the 404 Media article does not mention anything about this. At least, searching for the word "Clean" did not return any results.

I'm not surprised. 404 Media are anti-big tech and anti-AI activists. They are not shy about their agenda and do not claim to be unbiased.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#124

Post by nonethewiser »

preinheimer wrote: post #7

You want to use a lot of electricity? Great! We sell electricity. We will need cash in advance to handle some upgrades, rather than passing those costs on to other rate payers.

Isnt that what virgina did in the new rate class this article mentions? Data centers have to enter long term contracts with minimums (regardless of usage) to help power companies plan ahead.

https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/dominion-energy-rate...

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#125

Post by lostlogin »

conductr wrote: post #99
fluorinerocket wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes there are a bunch of terrible ideas in this thread. Video camera controlled lights? Yes f privacy of everyone to save a few bucks? well I think that was sarcastic Motion controlled lights are always timed badly, incredibly annoying to have them switch off when you are sitting still working or taking a duece. How about the janitor shuts off the lights after everyone goes home?

How about just forget about this thread and don’t let it be a major annoyance. It’s a very minor annoyance. It would be a more widespread debate/discussion if so many people were upset by it. At the least, just admit you’re in the minority that are so upset by it and then just live with it anyways. I say that to make a point about magnitude of annoyances. Sure it’s annoying. So are potholes. It does seem like a sligh…

I work in a smart building. Apparently it’s good for hormone health and circadian rhythms to have lights that don’t immediately respond when you press the button, suddenly turn up at 7am when they decided it was ‘daytime’ and turn off unexpectedly as you finish up a late shift.

A light switch that doesn’t respond immediately might be the most frustrating technology life.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#126

Post by esseph »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #82
sunshinesnacks wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capacity shortfalls and needs to conserve (i.e., asking customers to reduce usage) are not necessarily 1:1 with rate increases and overall electricity costs. Especially in the short term. In other words, large “base loads” like data centers could both reduce the average power bill AND contribute to capacity shortages and load shedding.

I work in industrial manufacturing and automation, several of my customers (those running steel foundries, aluminum die casting, plastic recycling and extrusion, and other power-intensive processes) represent a sizeable fraction of the utility usage in the small towns in which they're located. They often have an individual contract with the utility and participate in load regulation: when you need liquefy a few tons…

Depending on what an "AI datacenter" means, their loads don't fluctuate nearly as much as something like a smelter.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#127

Post by xuhu »

jlarocco wrote: post #106
philipallstar wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lobbyists are just doing their jobs well. It's the Senate that isn't. Blame the people who you pay taxes to purely to be impartial.

There's no reason not to blame lobbyists as well. A lobbyist saying "it's just business," doesn't excuse them for being assholes.

A comparison made by some Solaris guy comparing a tech magnate to a lawnmower springs to mind.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#128

Post by nonethewiser »

frantathefranta wrote: post #62
jabroni_salad wrote: post #30

The text of the article indicates that the county government sent this message to all government facilities, but I suppose that doesn't make for quite as sexy a headline and a public school is technically a government facility. I appreciate 404 media's mission but isn't there enough stupid shit existing naturally in the world for them to illuminate that we don't need to do this?

404media is heavily invested in the anti-datacenter reporting. I'm still subscribed to their RSS feed and like half the posts are datacenter focused (often with a misleading angle).

Like just stating a bunch of facts and implying causation. Never showing causation.

You could basically write the same article but swap data centers for clean energy upgrades.

- rationing request anecdote

- clean energy law dictating cleaner power

- unexamined claim clean energy is increasing prices nationally

- state there is a 25% price increased

Its

- “A” and “B”

- claim “A” causes “B”

- restate “B”

Did I show “A causes B”?

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#129

Post by Legend2440 »

slg wrote: post #63
WarmWash wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consumers should consider cancelling their AI subscriptions if they don't like datacenters.

Most consumers don't have any AI subscriptions. Lots of people's primary experience of AI is it being forced on them through integration into existing products and services, more "greed and hubris".

Most consumers are willingly using AI. But they're using the free versions.

ChatGPT is the #1 most popular app on the app store, with nearly a billion weekly active users.

Re: County with 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'

#130

Post by dguest »

WarmWash wrote: post #52
freediddy wrote: post #49

The greed with which the tech companies and data center providers are consuming electricity will be their downfall. By trying to make a few extra bucks by passing on some of the costs to consumers, it will trigger a huge political backlash that will screw them all. The fact they don't realize this is greed and hubris on their part.

Consumers should consider cancelling their AI subscriptions if they don't like datacenters.

Is there any evidence that individualization of responsibility works better than government policy?

Personally I see no contradiction in using a product despite wanting policies that prevent it: it just implies that you understand the tragedy of the commons.

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