141–147 of 147 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There isn't a battery in the world big enough to provide enough power for data enter if this size. Some batteries in this case is a bit like saying some water about the Pacific ocean.
A big AI data center uses about 1 GWh of power each night. A large battery storage site is about 500MWh. So this is totally doable and it’s also going to be economical as soon as the US has built enough LNG export capacity.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There isn't a battery in the world big enough to provide enough power for data enter if this size. Some batteries in this case is a bit like saying some water about the Pacific ocean.
A big AI data center uses about 1 GWh of power each night. A large battery storage site is about 500MWh. So this is totally doable and it’s also going to be economical as soon as the US has built enough LNG export capacity.
https://constructionreviewonline.com/top-5-largest-data-cent...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
1 GW of renewables is not equivalent to 1 GW of nuclear or coal capacity,you need backup. China is still building large amount of new coal power plants. In 2025, construction began on 83GW of new coal capacity – down from 98GW in 2024. https://www.carbonbrief.org/rush-for-new-coal-in-china-hits-... For comparision the total EU’s existing coal fleet is 109 GW. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/coal-is-not-makin…
However you may try to put lipstick on a pig, the core of the matter is unchanged. China's coal use decreased, and they barely install any nuclear compared to renewables.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-coal-power-drops-in-chi...
Coal has many uses in China in comparison with US
https://www.iea.org/countries/china/coal
https://www.iea.org/countries/united-states/coal
For example China has strongly expanded in making liquid fuels from coal.
"China consumes about 380 million metric tons of coal as a feedstock for chemical and liquid fuel production, representing about 8% of the country’s total coal consumption of 4,939 million metric tons."
The amount of coal that China uses only as a feedstock for chemical and liquid fuel production is bigger than total coal consumption in Europe or total coal consumption in US.
https://thecoalhub.com/china-consumes-almost-400-mt-of-coal-...
https://asiatimes.com/2025/07/chinas-climate-gambit-bet-on-c...
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good point, I guess the market says we have to poison the earth
No, it means that if you expect that sticking solar panels everywhere will solve all the problems for cheap (because solar panels are cheap), then you are up for a disappointment. I am of the opinion that handling out rose-tinted glasses will not go well.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A big AI data center uses about 1 GWh of power each night. A large battery storage site is about 500MWh. So this is totally doable and it’s also going to be economical as soon as the US has built enough LNG export capacity.
A medium AI data center uses 1GWh.. per hour.. 10-14GWh overnight (the shoulders aren't strong solar producers). Google 1GW (India), Meta 2GW (Louisiana), Meta 1GW (Texas), Stargate 1GW (UAE), Tsukuba 1GW (Japan), Gangwon Hyperscaler 1GW (South Korea), Teesside AI 6GW (UK). https://constructionreviewonline.com/top-5-largest-data-cent...
I think that's a fair point, I underestimated the power needs.
For a 1GW data center, the economical case is probably to build about 2 GWp of solar, plus a 5GWh battery or so.
That is not unrealistic:
https://masdar.ae/en/news/newsroom/masdar-and-consortium-par...
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/04/28/catl-secures-worlds-l...
On a sunny day, that will let you to power the data center fully from solar for most of the day, and partially through the night.
Obviously you need ~1GW of gas turbine capacity as well, for the non-so-sunny-days, so the economic case for solar here is dependent on the fuel price.
> the potential to create more greenhouse gases than the country of Morocco emitted in 2024. Does that comparison mean anything to anybody?
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> If US labor productivity rises by more than 2%—and implicit in the size of this bet is a guess much higher—US carbon intensity goes down correspondingly, and these data centers end up as a win for the climate I can promise you it won't happen in a million years. More productivity lends to more exploitation, because you can do more with the same unit of work, instead of getting the same result with less work.. Or at…
Or the third solution: a carbon tax. That is a tough sell in the current environment. It's a regressive tax, so opposed on both ends of the political spectrum. People on the far right don't believe in climate change, and people on the far left don't believe in market efficiency. With 20% of the world's oil flow crimped in the Strait of Hormuz for who knows how long, higher energy prices is the last thing people want…
they are not providing me a vehichle that is as good and as convenient as my 12yo diesel station wagon. if 8 years ago - when i bought it - it cost 90% of my then income, the same model/trim now costs 110% of my current yearly income. Consider that in the meantime i've doubled my income.
For the same reason, the equivalent EV is completely out of the question, but i'd rather get an hybrid.
Even at current diesel prices i see no reason to get in debt to change a perfectly good car that has at least 100k to 150k km left to give.
Make simillar reasoning for switching heating from natural gas to heat pumps. Most houses in my area are not insulated for it, nor the climate is well suited, material and electricity cost too much to recoup the investment without heavy subsidies (and you pay for them indirectly anyway)
And in the end, judging by our energy mix, electricity would be generated by petrol and natural gas so what's the point. A bit more efficiency for my extreme inconvenience?
I'd rather have them build some nuke reactors, that will really make a difference.