Techonology

Big tech data wants to plug the centers in power plants. Utilities say it is not appropriate

Harrisburg, Pa. (AP)-In search of a quick improvement for your rapidly growing electrical diet, technical giants are looking to strike deals directly with the power plant owners, potentially long and Electric grids more expensive to hook into one to avoid more expensive process that serves everyone.

This is questioning whether the removal of power to the customers who are high-to-pay will leave enough to others and whether it is appropriate to make big power users excuses by paying for the grid. Federal regulators are trying to find out what to do about it, and quickly.

The front and center is the data center that is constructing Amazon’s Cloud Computing Assistant, Amazon Web Services, next to the Sushekhana nuclear plant at Eastern Pennsylvania.

The arrangement between the owners of the plant and the AWS – called the “behind the meter” connection – is the first to come before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For now, FERC has rejected a deal that can eventually send to the data center – about 40% of the 960 MW – the capacity of the plant. This is enough to give strength to more than one half million houses.

It leaves the deal and other people who will probably follow in Limbo. It is not clear that the FERC, which blocked the deal on a procedural ground, will re -raise the case or how can change the president’s administration to affect things.

Bill Green, director of MIT Energy Initiative, said, “Companies, they are very disappointed because they have a business opportunity that is really big now.” “And if they are delayed by five years in the queue, for example – I don’t know if it would be five years, but the year anyway – they can completely remember the business opportunity.”

What is driving demand for energy-landing data centers

Rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence The demand for data centers has been promoted, which require electricity to run server, storage system, networking equipment and cooling systems.

There are proposes to bring out nuclear power plants out of retirement, develop small modular nuclear reactors and to build renewable installations or new natural gas plants on utility. In December, California -based Oclo announced an agreement to provide 12 gigawatts to the data center developer switch from small nuclear reactors operated by nuclear waste.

Federal officials say the rapid growth of data centers is important for the economy and national security, including the race for artificial intelligence.

For AWS, the deal with Susquehanna meets its requirement of reliable power that meets its internal requirements for sources that emit planets like planetary-warming greenhouse gases, such as coal, oil or gas-fuel plants Do not do

Big Tech also wants to raise its centers fast. But the huge hunger of the tech for energy occurs when the power supply is already under stress due to efforts to move away from planetary fossil fuels.

They can build data centers over a few years, said Aaron Tinzum of the Data Center alliance. But in some areas, it may take four years to be connected to the conjugged power grid, and sometimes too much, he said.

Plug directly into a power plant will take years from their development deadline.

What is there for power providers

In theory, AWS deal will sell power for maximum from selling Susquehanna in the grid. Talen Energy, owner of the majority of Susquehanna, estimated that the deal would bring more as $ 140 million in power sales in 2028, although it was not known how much AWS would pay for electricity.

Profit capacity is one that other nuclear plant operators, especially, are embracing the financial crisis and years of desperation of how they are paid in broad power markets. Many people say that they have been forced to compete in some markets against the floods of cheap natural gas as well as state-subsidy solar and wind energy.

The owners of the power plant also say that the system benefits the wide public, bypassing the expensive construction of long power lines and leaving more transmission capacity on the grid for all others.

FERC’s big decision

A favorable decision from FERC can open the door for many more huge data centers and other giant power users such as hydrogen plants and bitcoin miners, saying analysts.

In November, 2–1 rejection of FERC was proactive. Recent comments by Commissioners show that they were not ready to decide how to regulate such novel case without more studies.

Meanwhile, the agency is listening to the Susquehana-AWS deal and listening to arguments for it.

Monitoring analytics, market watchdogs in the mid-eleventh grid, FERC wrote in a filing that the effect would be “peak” if the Sushekhana-AVS model was extended to all nuclear power plants in the region.

Energy prices will increase considerably and there is no explanation of how the increasing demand for electricity will be met before leaving large power plants from the supply mixture.

Different, two electric utility owners-who earn money in individual states by building and providing strength-opposed that the Sushekhana-AVS system amount to make a grid freeloid a grid that makes ordinary customers and Let’s pay to maintain. Chicago-based Axlon and Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power states that the Sushekhana-AVS system will allow AWS to avoid $ 140 million per year which will be outstanding otherwise it will be outstanding.

The owners of Sushekhana say that the data center will not be on the grid and asks why it should be paid to maintain it. But critics say that the power plant itself is benefiting from taxpayer subsidy and retardaire-subsidy services, and they should not be able to attack deals with private customers that may increase costs for others.

FERC’s decision will “have a large -scale results for the whole country” as it will set an example of how FERC and grid operator data center companies and nuclear plants will handle the same requests of the same requests, Natural Resource Defense Council K Jackson Morris said.

Stacey Berbur, vice -president of American Electric Power, told FERC at a hearing in November that he needed to move forward quickly.

“The time of this issue is in front of us,” he said, “and if we take our specific five years to get this perfect, it will be too late.”

Follow Mark Levi on X: https://x.com/timelywriter,

Associated press’ climate and environmental coverage provide financial assistance from many private foundations. AP is completely responsible for all materials. Find AP Standards To work with philanthropists, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas Ap.org,

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