The additionallity of it does point towards yes. And, while I am no fan of data centers, they still benefit the renewable energy learning curve. For those unaware, for everytime we double the number of solar panels produced in the world, the cost falls roughly 20% per watt. If Jeff Bezos bought a billion panels and threw them away, it would still result in solar panels being cheaper down the line
rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 1 month ago
I’m not sure this can legitimately be called green energy.
Dippy@beehaw.org 1 month ago
cravl@slrpnk.net 5 weeks ago
Plus, if the demand for these AI datacenters were to suddenly decline, utilities could probably buy the excess energy. Or just buy fields outright. It’s public benefit from private up-front investment. Not the worst path to get to the desired outcome.
Dippy@beehaw.org 5 weeks ago
The 10 people who will still have cable TV in 10 years will be seeing commercials that say “do you own a home? Buy these data center solar panels! They’re half a the price of a new panel, and only 7 years old. Installation is free!”
rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 5 weeks ago
This would be an excellent outcome.
compostgoblin@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 month ago
Oh yeah, I didn’t post this to imply it’s a good thing, just relevant to the discussion of clean energy
Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
If the alternative is to power the datacentres with gas turbines, I would say that PV+BESS is pretty green.
rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 1 month ago
Sure, but using more sustainable options to provide power to increase consumption is the overarching point to me. Maybe this is less bad, but I don’t view it as pretty green in comparison.
Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
Yeah, the only truly green option is to skip the datacenter entirely. Well that’s not the reality where we live.