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Data centers need electricity, utilities need years to build – who should pay?
(theconversation.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2025
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Make the data centers build their own power plants. Then they get all the risk and all the reward.
Make them put the power plant right next to the data center, that way they're not stressing out the rest of the grid. And that way the exact same community that gets the benefits of hosting the data center also gets the environmental costs of the power plant.
In theory it's great. In practice it's "oops we had a big spill and went out of business, guess the EPA will have to use taxpayer money".
Just because they're a data center doesn't mean they're suddenly immune to the regulations and processes a utility has to go through to build a generator.
Musk is running filthy methane generators in Memphis to power his datacenter. No permits, nada.
That's the thing, they only have any interest in "innovative new uses for AI", they aren't interested in delivering power, so they're going to do a shitty job of it, they're going to make a mess that we'll all be left with.
Additionally, if they connect their power to the grid at all, then they need to work seamlessly or the entire grid is at risk. Again, the aspect of their business they don't care about at all has to work seamlessly...
Don't get me started on nuclear, just no. They don't get to play with isotopes.
The risks here are huge, the potential consequences are disastrous to both the economy and the environment. And the potential rewards are what? Lining the pockets of AI grifters? Pushing expensive technology that nobody wants?