Comment on xAI Data Center Emits Plumes of Pollution, New Video Shows

doodledup@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• yarrage@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  “But through the lens of Wilson’s optical gas imaging camera, a scientific instrument that is used within the oil and gas industry and by regulators to detect methane emissions, the pollution becomes readily apparent. Huge, billowing plumes of pollution, including large volumes of unburned methane, rise into the atmosphere and drift off-site.”

  Have you read the article at all?

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  • doodledup@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I did read that now. But why would it release methane at all? They are cooling computers.

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    • brachypelmasmithi@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Direct quote from the article:

      Having difficulty securing enough grid power to fuel the energy-hungry data center, xAI brought in 35 portable gas turbines, and assembled them without environmental permits or pollution controls.

      Looks like it’s not just cooling that they’re doing there. Methane in this case seems to either be a byproduct of power generation or unused fuel somehow leaking from the system. I have no clue how gas turbines work, so I’m talking out of my ass here. In any case this seems to be the source of the methane emissions.

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      • dan1101@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        It’s amazing to me that cloud computing is so profitable that they can run inefficient gas generators to power it.

        People don’t think about the internet being fossil fuel powered.

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      • obinice@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Methane is what the majority of natural gas is made up of, and if your generator isn’t made to be very efficient (like a real power station is), you’ll lose some of your fuel unburnt into the atmosphere.

        Kinda like unburnt wood smoke vapour, which could have been burned in a higher quality wood burner, but just goes up the chimney in an open fire.

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    • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They’re running generators to power the data centre.

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• turdburglar@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  the heat signature is showing the hot methane billowing out of the generators he’s running to power grok.

  please don’t use grok.

  • ❤️memphis.

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• TarantulaFudge@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  As someone who’s around Memphis often, we are having major pollution issues from these generators. There have been several days we have had terrible smog issues lately. Nobody here wants these generators around. They were installed despite fierce opposition from the locals. It’s absolutely horrible.

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