Cheyenne To Host Massive AI Datacenter Using More Electricity Than All Wyoming Homes Combined (apnews.com)
- Reference: 0178507652
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/07/29/2246259/cheyenne-to-host-massive-ai-datacenter-using-more-electricity-than-all-wyoming-homes-combined
- Source link: https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-data-center-electricity-wyoming-cheyenne-44da7974e2d942acd8bf003ebe2e855a
> An artificial intelligence data center that [1]would use more electricity than every home in Wyoming combined before expanding to as much as five times that size will be built soon near Cheyenne, according to the city's mayor. "It's a game changer. It's huge," Mayor Patrick Collins said Monday. With cool weather -- good for keeping computer temperatures down -- and an abundance of inexpensive electricity from a top energy-producing state, Wyoming's capital has become a hub of computing power. The city has been home to Microsoft data centers since 2012. An $800 million data center announced last year by Facebook parent company Meta Platforms is nearing completion, Collins said.
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> The latest data center, a joint effort between regional energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, would begin at 1.8 gigawatts of electricity and be scalable to 10 gigawatts, according to a joint company statement. A gigawatt can power as many as 1 million homes. But that's more homes than Wyoming has people. The [2]least populated state , Wyoming, has about 590,000 people. And it's a major exporter of energy. A top producer of coal, oil and gas, Wyoming ranks behind only Texas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania as a top net energy-producing state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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> Accounting for fossil fuels, Wyoming produces about [3]12 times more energy than it consumes. The state exports almost three-fifths of the electricity it produces, according to the EIA. But this proposed data center is so big, it would have its own dedicated energy from gas generation and renewable sources, according to Collins and company officials. [...] While data centers are energy-hungry, experts say companies can help reduce their effect on the climate by powering them with renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. Even so, electricity customers might see their bills increase as utilities plan for massive data projects on the grid. The data center would be built several miles (kilometers) south of Cheyenne off U.S. 85 near the Colorado state line. State and local regulators would need to sign off on the project, but Collins was optimistic construction could begin soon. "I believe their plans are to go sooner rather than later," Collins said.
[1] https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-data-center-electricity-wyoming-cheyenne-44da7974e2d942acd8bf003ebe2e855a
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Wyoming
I think slow down a bit. (Score:2)
Slow down little doggie!! :-)... think things through. Plan. Think about what is important. Take things slow.
it will take years (Score:2)
I think they can build the data centers faster than the natgas plants or whatever other dirty energy sources they expect to be able to get all this electricity from. And that means the data centers will be in direct competition with all the other consumers of electricity. Prices will shoot up.
Re: (Score:1)
By then... a new algorithm or chip process will reduce the energy needs by 90%. Also, I believe in that state, the kids have successfully sued them for their contribution to global warming, and are shutting down their fossil fuel industry.
Re: (Score:2)
Utility company pricing is regulated.
Pricing will only "shoot up" to the extent govt allows.
Which just means data center owners will need to ramp up their spending on politicians.
Re:it will take years (Score:4, Insightful)
If costs shoot up, the choices are: make consumers pay; make the AI owners pay; force the power companies to eat the costs. The first of these is outrageous, and the last just leads to bankruptcy. This being a US story, I expect it will be a mix of the first and third, with more blackouts for good measure.
Re: (Score:2)
Wind is the lowest-cost power, and turbines can be installed very quickly.
Wyoming has plenty of wind.
The illusion of the wonder weapon (Score:2)
Your attacks fail on the very battlefield that you used to define, you fall back to defensive positions but they don't hold, your rear is devastated by corruption, so what do you do?
Yep, you develop wunderwaffes and try to convince yourself they justify the lost resources.
Then they don't, and you lose anyway.
Seen many times in history.
Re: (Score:1)
Someone has been hitting the Mary Jane a bit to hard tonight. Better start sharing.
Too late (Score:3)
Clearly, AI has taken over our government and is now redirecting all resources to its survival and propagation
What? (Score:3)
> ...electricity customers might see their bills increase as utilities plan for massive data projects on the grid.
Why are existing customers having to pay for for this dedicated infrastructure, instead of it being charged directly to the DC build project?
Oh, yeah - late-stage capitalism.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, no. The AI data centers have to buy their electricity just like anyone else. Maybe they get a better price per kwh, because they buy so much.
However, increasing electricity costs will encourage the power companies to build more power plants. The biggest problem here is government intervention and over-regulation: for the kind of power these data centers need, you really want modular nuclear reactors. Dozens or hundreds of reactors of the same design, because that's what would make them economical. S
It's a good thing we aren't stopping wind & so (Score:5, Interesting)
Because otherwise all these AI data centers would drive up the cost of electricity substantially while possibly causing blackouts.
Fun fact in some of the Southwest states places that have had AI data centers open up near them have had water shortages and shut offs because there isn't enough to go around. And yes I am aware that data centers can recycle water but that costs money and they're already losing money hand over fist.
And very very very soon nobody will have (Score:1)
Access to electricity. All electricity supplies will be reserved for AI and robots and there won't be anything left for houses where people live very very soon. You could have voted better but it's too late now.
As far as a way around that there really is only one and it's to change how we teach to focus on critical thinking and improving children's capabilities to the maximum they can reach. But that's it odds with cost cutting and a desire to create effective corporate robots as fast as possible and it's c
Re: (Score:2)
quit you're jawing - Jesus will be back before then . Thats their plan , they are counting on it.
Re: (Score:2)
Tallgrass is probably planning on burning coal for this project soooo