"They should only be allowed to build the datacentres if they're running on 100% renewables" is some Rainbow Flags On Cruise Missiles shit
STOP VALIDATING THEIR FRAMING
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@Azuaron As the UK's House of Commons Library points out: "[some big data centres] support renewables projects through power purchase agreements (PPAs), although some studies have questioned whether PPAs contribute to decarbonisation" https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10315/ They aren't necessarily building any new renewables. We can see in your country that, in practice, the data centres are building new fossil fuel generation.
@Azuaron Where I live Microsoft are pushing through a massive data centre. They are installing solar panels on the roof that'll apparently provide about 0.03% of the power required. So, in reality, they just add massive new demand on the grid and can claim *they* are carbon neutral whilst the impact on the planet is not that.
@slowe Right, you're talking about how things are definitely bad now, but what we're talking about here is people asking that data centers run on 100% renewables, and when people say that they don't just mean "Microsoft puts up a token number of solar panels" or PPAs, they mean what Massachusetts recently did:
New data centers should follow the “Bring Your Own Clean Energy” model and supply or directly procure or develop the energy resources needed to support their operations. Projects should not increase costs for existing ratepayers or place additional strain on the electric grid. Projects should prioritize, where feasible, on-site deployment of clean energy resources, including solar, storage, geothermal, and other zero-emission technologies.
And I get Mr. Prime's point that energy/clean energy use isn't really most of the objection to data centers/AI, but my point is that the AI companies are going to crash and burn anyway, and lots of data centers are going to be built anyway, so the best case scenario in many cases is likely to be that they build the stupid things with a bunch of renewable power generation, then they go tits up and the renewable power generation still exists.
"You've got to build bypasses, Mr Dent"
@pikesley I think on the whole, I'm on board with this one--wait, hear me out.
The AI bubble is going to pop soon, and then those data centers are going to be empty. It would be nice to at least get some renewable power generation out of it.