AI has changed the data-center electricity story. Demand is rising much faster than it did through much of the 2000s and 2010s, hyperscale facilities are being proposed and built at extraordinary scale, and utilities in several US regions are confronting loads large enough to affect generation planning, substations, transformers and … [continued]
Tesla has plans for two new giant factories in Texas. Let’s have a look. Tesla’s “Project Crystal Sun” Solar Factory Tesla is reportedly planning a giant solar cell factory in Texas. The factory, named “Project Crystal Sun” within Tesla at the moment, is expected to require a $10.1 billion investment … [continued]
There is no way to sugarcoat this. Amazon, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, has pledged to virtually eliminate carbon emissions from its various operations by 2040. However, in the past several years its total emissions have increased rather than declined. Is this an example of Bezos talking out of … [continued]
Current proposal fails to consider all pollution and denies the public its lawful hearing In comments submitted today to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Sierra Club argues that Meta’s most recent air permit revisions trigger major-source permit requirements despite the tech conglomerate attempting to maintain a “minor source” permit … [continued]
Indiana — Governor Braun has released an executive order to extend Indiana coal plants as Big Tech continues to propose new AI data center projects to the state. Braun’s executive order directs the state’s Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources to look for opportunities to reopen retired coal plants or prevent … [continued]
Washington, D.C. — According to reporting, more utility and technology companies will sign onto a nonbinding pledge to keep electricity costs down and protect ratepayers from skyrocketing bills driven by data centers’ energy demands. Despite what is written in the pledge, there has been minimal tangible progress made to address the impact … [continued]
The United States kicked off the solar power industry, but then Germany took it to another level, and Australia followed close behind and became true leader globally in rooftop solar power adoption. With strong federal policies and some strong state policies, Australia shot to the top of the charts in … [continued]
It is slowly dawning on people that all this hysteria about artificial intelligence and the data centers needed to support it may not be a good thing. In particular, its effect on impressionable young people is setting off alarm bells. The UK this week announced a number of new protections … [continued]
Madison, WI — Today, Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Sierra Club Wisconsin challenging a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decision to issue permits for a massive data center campus in Port Washington without fully evaluating the project’s environmental consequences. The lawsuit comes after emails obtained through a public records request revealed … [continued]
A new report is out from the Energy Institute, and it’s quite damning for the US. The report is the 75th edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy. We’ll dive into other parts of the report, but one big thing Robert Rapier of OilPrice.com noticed is that the US … [continued]
