OpenAI Pitches
This is as much a communications play as an energy one: local backlash against data centers is hardening across the US, and OpenAI needs community goodwill to keep its gigawatt-scale buildout on schedule. The technical premise is plausible — flexible, curtailable load is genuinely valuable to grid operators, and demand-response schemes already exist.… more
In our view, though, the framing stretches credulity: a facility consuming enormous power year-round is being marketed as a neighborhood guardian, and whether a full gigawatt can truly be freed up precisely when heat waves and storms hit remains untested. Rivals like Google and Microsoft already flex their data center loads, so expect this 'protection' language to spread fast. The real test is whether regulators and residents accept the trade or see the PR beneath it.
OpenAI pitches data center power plants as a way to protect nearby areas
In an announcement on Monday, OpenAI says it will pilot its "Grid Protectors Program" at an upcoming data center in Effingham County, Georgia, where the company promises to free up to 1,000 megawatts of power during extreme weather or emergencies, enough to power air conditio…
Source:
The Verge
Discussion (0)