Posted: Yesterday 11:51:12 AM EDT
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The Department of Energy has unveiled $5 billion in spending on projects to upgrade grid and transmission infrastructure across the country, aiming to make more power available to data centers while also lowering electric bills. The announcement marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to assuage homeowners’ fears that the rapid development of artificial intelligence and build-out of data centers will send electricity costs even higher – a concern that has complicated Republicans’ campaigns in the midterm elections. The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it would be committing $1.9 billion in federal funding to new grid investments as part of its Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades initiative. The agency said another $3.35 billion will be granted through recipient cost-share funding, bringing the total investment to around $5.25 billion. The funds are being spread across 31 projects in 26 states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. In total, the administration anticipates that the projects will reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy grid-enhancing technologies across nearly 21,000 miles. “These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The agency estimates that these upgrades will add at least an additional 23 gigawatts of electricity capacity to the grid. The Department of Energy did not provide an estimate for when these projects would be completed. If all 23 gigawatts of capacity are added to the grid, it would help close a crucial supply gap driven by the rapid development of AI data centers. In July, BloombergNEF forecast that 118 gigawatts’ worth of data center capacity will be online in the United States by 2030, up from just 47 gigawatts last year. For comparison, one gigawatt is estimated to be enough to power about 750,000 homes. Some of the projects listed by the administration as recipients of the funding on Thursday explicitly said they aimed to unlock additional capacity to meet data center demand. “Entergy Mississippi, LLC (EML) – Unlocking Grid Capacity for the Southeast’s Next Wave of Data Center & Industrial Growth,” the title of one project reads. “The proposed project will unlock substantial transmission system capacity, giving Northeast Alabama the power needed for large-scale data centers, industrial manufacturers, and major commercial facilities to locate in the area and benefit the region,” another description reads. In addition to providing more transmission capacity, several listed projects are meant to provide more grid resilience, protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events such as wildfires and flooding. For some, this means replacing wooden transmission line structures with steel. The Department of Energy’s funding announced on Thursday was originally allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law under the Biden administration. Also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the bill authorized the agency’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program to provide up to $10.5 billion in funding over five years to states, tribes, and utilities to strengthen the grid. The Trump administration later renamed the program the SPARK initiative. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-and-environment/4741143/energy-department-spending-5-billion-grids-data-centers-bills-infrastructure-bill/ |
| CA tried to cover base energy demands with solar and wind. But obviously winds are unpredictable and sunlight is limited. Very expensive power generation via small gas units supply the grid during peak demand and prevent brownouts. One nuclear plant supplies 10% of the grid in CA. |
Live your life as you would wish to have lived, when you come to die. Confucius
When words lose their meaning, a people can move neither hand nor foot. Confucius
When words lose their meaning, a people can move neither hand nor foot. Confucius
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Originally Posted By Kipple: Why aren't the companies making a profit off the DCs paying for this? |
Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
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Originally Posted By PDRJohn: So power costs are about to skyrocket. Because that's what happens when gov comes in to lower costs. |
Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
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Originally Posted By Kipple: Why aren't the companies making a profit off the DCs paying for this? Are you under the impression that DCs don’t pay taxes? The mayor of Elk Grove was very happy with the DC in his Chicago suburb. The DC uses very little water and about 50% more electricity than the previous business. It is also much quieter then people expected. They pay about 3 times the property tax of the previous business. I am sure all of the home owners hate lower property taxes. 
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Originally Posted By Predicament: That's an excellent question. I think the answer is its cheaper to fund a PAC to get the gov to improve your infrastructure than to pay for the upgrades yourself. Originally Posted By Predicament: Originally Posted By Kipple: Why aren't the companies making a profit off the DCs paying for this? That's an excellent question. I think the answer is its cheaper to fund a PAC to get the gov to improve your infrastructure than to pay for the upgrades yourself. Are you saying the upgrades are only for the DCs? They are improving the infrastructure for all customers. |
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Originally Posted By Bat15: Are you saying the upgrades are only for the DCs? They are improving the infrastructure for all customers. Originally Posted By Bat15: Originally Posted By Predicament: Originally Posted By Kipple: Why aren't the companies making a profit off the DCs paying for this? That's an excellent question. I think the answer is its cheaper to fund a PAC to get the gov to improve your infrastructure than to pay for the upgrades yourself. Are you saying the upgrades are only for the DCs? They are improving the infrastructure for all customers. Your bias is quite clear. |
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Originally Posted By Bat15: Are you under the impression that DCs don’t pay taxes? The mayor of Elk Grove was very happy with the DC in his Chicago suburb. The DC uses very little water and about 50% more electricity than the previous business. It is also much quieter then people expected. They pay about 3 times the property tax of the previous business. I am sure all of the home owners hate lower property taxes. Originally Posted By Bat15: Originally Posted By Kipple: Why aren't the companies making a profit off the DCs paying for this? Are you under the impression that DCs don’t pay taxes? The mayor of Elk Grove was very happy with the DC in his Chicago suburb. The DC uses very little water and about 50% more electricity than the previous business. It is also much quieter then people expected. They pay about 3 times the property tax of the previous business. I am sure all of the home owners hate lower property taxes. Did they go down? Best info I can find is Cook county re-assessed the village last year, increasing homes taxable value by 30%, and then something about the pre-build property tax estimate of a Microsoft DC at 900 million, but re-assessed to $250 million after the fact (some sort of deal with the city). |
When the going gets tough, the tough go cyclic.
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Originally Posted By PDRJohn: So power costs are about to skyrocket. Because that's what happens when gov comes in to lower costs. Our rates have gone up 45% in the past 8 years and they would be higher if the state didn't reject some coal ash cleanup project our provider wanted to add as a line item. |
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Originally Posted By PDRJohn: So power costs are about to skyrocket. Because that's what happens when gov comes in to lower costs. You forgot the part where they will also introduce a new tax to "pay" for it all rendering the lower energy costs moot and the plebs will suck it up thinking they got a good deal. |
VCDL
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Tennessee Squire
A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Team Ranstad
Camp Patriot
Task Force Dagger Foundation
Tennessee Squire
A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
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Originally Posted By 15fanatic: The tech companies are worth trillions of dollars and set to make exponentially more. Yet they have taxpayers funding it, all while telling us this tech will destroy our jobs. |
I bought all this equipment. What do you mean that the dead AREN'T coming back to life?
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Originally Posted By metalsaber: well if they pay for it, they'll just pass the costs off to the consumers anyways. citizens are going to eat shit on this regardless. Originally Posted By metalsaber: Originally Posted By 15fanatic: The tech companies are worth trillions of dollars and set to make exponentially more. Yet they have taxpayers funding it, all while telling us this tech will destroy our jobs. I don't think any of these companies are really making money on AI just yet. There's a lot of investor, mega company, and tax dollars funding it for now but with the data MS revealed on an earnings call only a low single digit percent of business customers are paying for a CoPilot license. What is going on is that these companies have the money to throw at politicians who then give them money out of the public coffers. Their whole plan was to get someone else to pay for as much of their own pet projects as they can. Basically unloading hundreds of billions worth of cost onto someone else- everything from subsidized energy rates, transmission line upgrades, tax breaks, investments, and land deals signed behind closed doors. I am not anti-AI as I use it daily. We just need to be honest about how all of this is going down and it's leaving a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. I have been against socializing the cost while making the revenue private for a long time on a wide variety of topics such as sports stadiums or bailouts for poorly run companies. |
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We need more power plants. [and not green ones either]. Good luck with that. |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
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Originally Posted By Predicament: The Department of Energy has unveiled $5 billion in spending on projects to upgrade grid and transmission infrastructure across the country, aiming to make more power available to data centers while also lowering electric bills. The announcement marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to assuage homeowners’ fears that the rapid development of artificial intelligence and build-out of data centers will send electricity costs even higher – a concern that has complicated Republicans’ campaigns in the midterm elections. The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it would be committing $1.9 billion in federal funding to new grid investments as part of its Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades initiative. The agency said another $3.35 billion will be granted through recipient cost-share funding, bringing the total investment to around $5.25 billion. The funds are being spread across 31 projects in 26 states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. In total, the administration anticipates that the projects will reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy grid-enhancing technologies across nearly 21,000 miles. “These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The agency estimates that these upgrades will add at least an additional 23 gigawatts of electricity capacity to the grid. The Department of Energy did not provide an estimate for when these projects would be completed. If all 23 gigawatts of capacity are added to the grid, it would help close a crucial supply gap driven by the rapid development of AI data centers. In July, BloombergNEF forecast that 118 gigawatts’ worth of data center capacity will be online in the United States by 2030, up from just 47 gigawatts last year. For comparison, one gigawatt is estimated to be enough to power about 750,000 homes. Some of the projects listed by the administration as recipients of the funding on Thursday explicitly said they aimed to unlock additional capacity to meet data center demand. “Entergy Mississippi, LLC (EML) – Unlocking Grid Capacity for the Southeast’s Next Wave of Data Center & Industrial Growth,” the title of one project reads. “The proposed project will unlock substantial transmission system capacity, giving Northeast Alabama the power needed for large-scale data centers, industrial manufacturers, and major commercial facilities to locate in the area and benefit the region,” another description reads. In addition to providing more transmission capacity, several listed projects are meant to provide more grid resilience, protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events such as wildfires and flooding. For some, this means replacing wooden transmission line structures with steel. The Department of Energy’s funding announced on Thursday was originally allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law under the Biden administration. Also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the bill authorized the agency’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program to provide up to $10.5 billion in funding over five years to states, tribes, and utilities to strengthen the grid. The Trump administration later renamed the program the SPARK initiative. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-and-environment/4741143/energy-department-spending-5-billion-grids-data-centers-bills-infrastructure-bill/ The Trump administration is already reconsidering their 50% hair cut of the Biden Infrastructure Act even 10 billion wasn't enough. There will be a SPARK 2.0 following this. We had serious problems before all this AI nonsense came about, we are down right fucked if we don't get off our collective asses and fix this. |
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Originally Posted By fxntime: We need more power plants. [and not green ones either]. Good luck with that. This....more stupid policy by people that dont know which end of an extension cord to plug in. Likely a bunch of smart grid BS in it as well, i always loved listening to people try to explain how $25m in software would help create more power New conductors that carry more only help if grid congestion is really the issue. But in reality our issue is back of baseload generation which can be sited close to the load negating the need for costly poles and wire. All that wind and solar is highly unreliable and inverter based gen is a weak substitute that has problems generating fault current and lacks for grid inertia. Trump needs to jump on a plane to Boston and tell GE to get off thier ass and start cranking out turbines or he'll defense prodcution thier ass. Some of The electrical undustry has finally strated expansions in the last year or two to address demand. Others are sitting on thier ass with no care and enjoying the backlog thats into 2030 now. 
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"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
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Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: The Trump administration is already reconsidering their 50% hair cut of the Biden Infrastructure Act even 10 billion wasn't enough. There will be a SPARK 2.0 following this. We had serious problems before all this AI nonsense came about, we are down right fucked if we don't get off our collective asses and fix this. Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: Originally Posted By Predicament: The Department of Energy has unveiled $5 billion in spending on projects to upgrade grid and transmission infrastructure across the country, aiming to make more power available to data centers while also lowering electric bills. The announcement marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to assuage homeowners’ fears that the rapid development of artificial intelligence and build-out of data centers will send electricity costs even higher – a concern that has complicated Republicans’ campaigns in the midterm elections. The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it would be committing $1.9 billion in federal funding to new grid investments as part of its Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades initiative. The agency said another $3.35 billion will be granted through recipient cost-share funding, bringing the total investment to around $5.25 billion. The funds are being spread across 31 projects in 26 states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. In total, the administration anticipates that the projects will reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy grid-enhancing technologies across nearly 21,000 miles. “These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The agency estimates that these upgrades will add at least an additional 23 gigawatts of electricity capacity to the grid. The Department of Energy did not provide an estimate for when these projects would be completed. If all 23 gigawatts of capacity are added to the grid, it would help close a crucial supply gap driven by the rapid development of AI data centers. In July, BloombergNEF forecast that 118 gigawatts’ worth of data center capacity will be online in the United States by 2030, up from just 47 gigawatts last year. For comparison, one gigawatt is estimated to be enough to power about 750,000 homes. Some of the projects listed by the administration as recipients of the funding on Thursday explicitly said they aimed to unlock additional capacity to meet data center demand. “Entergy Mississippi, LLC (EML) – Unlocking Grid Capacity for the Southeast’s Next Wave of Data Center & Industrial Growth,” the title of one project reads. “The proposed project will unlock substantial transmission system capacity, giving Northeast Alabama the power needed for large-scale data centers, industrial manufacturers, and major commercial facilities to locate in the area and benefit the region,” another description reads. In addition to providing more transmission capacity, several listed projects are meant to provide more grid resilience, protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events such as wildfires and flooding. For some, this means replacing wooden transmission line structures with steel. The Department of Energy’s funding announced on Thursday was originally allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law under the Biden administration. Also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the bill authorized the agency’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program to provide up to $10.5 billion in funding over five years to states, tribes, and utilities to strengthen the grid. The Trump administration later renamed the program the SPARK initiative. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-and-environment/4741143/energy-department-spending-5-billion-grids-data-centers-bills-infrastructure-bill/ The Trump administration is already reconsidering their 50% hair cut of the Biden Infrastructure Act even 10 billion wasn't enough. There will be a SPARK 2.0 following this. We had serious problems before all this AI nonsense came about, we are down right fucked if we don't get off our collective asses and fix this. Hopefully they dump billions into the grid and build more generation. We need it. |
We're getting close, real close. And now for some more bad news... Ready?
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Originally Posted By wienerman1961: This. Just like Deregulation lowered prices. Not. Originally Posted By wienerman1961: Originally Posted By PDRJohn: So power costs are about to skyrocket. Because that's what happens when gov comes in to lower costs. This. Just like Deregulation lowered prices. Not. Same in Texas, prices sky rocketed after dereg, the only reason they dropped briefly was the price of NG dropping to a third. But with no new baseload gen, we're up 50% in 4 years and the price of NG is still in the tank. The producers finally got what they wanted a restricted supply and we're all gonna pay for it now. |
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
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Originally Posted By eurotrash: The DOE press report says nothing about datacenters. The Washington Examiner article is spreading Chinese misinformation because the CCP doesn’t want America to invest in its infrastructure. "The selections were made from OE’s Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement for an approximate $1.9 billion to catalyze electricity infrastructure investments to meet electricity demand growth and resource adequacy requirements" Its for DCs. My power company has had double digit rate increases for years on behalf of "improving infrastructure", so we've been investing in it already. The "its China" argument is so retarded its laughable. |
When the going gets tough, the tough go cyclic.
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Originally Posted By jaqufrost: I prefer full home solar capability. The power goes out and we can go for weeks without issues. Originally Posted By jaqufrost: Originally Posted By Predicament: Everybody should be looking at a small offgrid solar plant to keep the fridge running and a couple lights on. Excellent. You are in a good position. A lot of people aren't though. Starting small and expanding as your knowledge and skills improve is the path a lot of people take. |
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Originally Posted By 15fanatic: The tech companies are worth trillions of dollars and set to make exponentially more. Yet they have taxpayers funding it, all while telling us this tech will destroy our jobs. Sounds like a football stadium when the owners hold the state for ransom of taxpayer funds. |
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Originally Posted By PDRJohn: So power costs are about to skyrocket. Because that's what happens when gov comes in to lower costs. 
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“In America, the impossible is what we do best"
"(Paraphrased) The best days are still ahead, I really believe this. [Rush Limbaugh]"
When crazy people have a nuclear weapon bad things happen. - President Donald J. Trump
"(Paraphrased) The best days are still ahead, I really believe this. [Rush Limbaugh]"
When crazy people have a nuclear weapon bad things happen. - President Donald J. Trump
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Originally Posted By 0311SKI: "The selections were made from OE’s Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement for an approximate $1.9 billion to catalyze electricity infrastructure investments to meet electricity demand growth and resource adequacy requirements" Its for DCs. My power company has had double digit rate increases for years on behalf of "improving infrastructure", so we've been investing in it already. The "its China" argument is so retarded its laughable. Originally Posted By 0311SKI: Originally Posted By eurotrash: The DOE press report says nothing about datacenters. The Washington Examiner article is spreading Chinese misinformation because the CCP doesn’t want America to invest in its infrastructure. "The selections were made from OE’s Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement for an approximate $1.9 billion to catalyze electricity infrastructure investments to meet electricity demand growth and resource adequacy requirements" Its for DCs. My power company has had double digit rate increases for years on behalf of "improving infrastructure", so we've been investing in it already. The "its China" argument is so retarded its laughable. Consumers? They are full of shit, they have F'ed off on grid [and gas lines] maintenance for decades while handing out the money for upper management and bonuses like free air. Even though he was a democrat, I wish to hell Frank Kelley was still in office because he wasn't some tarted up Democrat female idiot who is easily manipulated and didn't kiss the ass of anyone on the republican side wanting favors either and he actually knew how to read financials instead of roll over like a lab trying to make it's master happy. If the utilities tried to put thru a rate hike, they had better have their spreadsheets in order and their upper management salaries and bonuses reasonable or he'd shoot them down like a rabid dog. This coven of witches has basically handed a free open check book to both CE and DE. Hell, the second on rate increase goes thru [or even before] the utilities are already making a run for another one while crying money issues. [the shit I know is epic on money wastage, the internal electric car program was a total failure from day one and almost the entire fleet did nothing but sit in the back lot for years because they couldn't be used] And McCormick, the Asshole Mi government should have had him behind bars, 2 billion alone in round table trading with Enron should have sealed that bastards fate. |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
| This only deepens the hate for DCs. Not only do people not want the DCs, now they have to contend with their land being confiscated to have power lines run through. We have that battle going on in my AO. There have been 3 paths proposed, I would imagine to figure out the one that makes people scream the least. |
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Originally Posted By fxntime: Consumers? They are full of shit, they have F'ed off on grid [and gas lines] maintenance for decades while handing out the money for upper management and bonuses like free air. Even though he was a democrat, I wish to hell Frank Kelley was still in office because he wasn't some tarted up Democrat female idiot who is easily manipulated and didn't kiss the ass of anyone on the republican side wanting favors either and he actually knew how to read financials instead of roll over like a lab trying to make it's master happy. If the utilities tried to put thru a rate hike, they had better have their spreadsheets in order and their upper management salaries and bonuses reasonable or he'd shoot them down like a rabid dog. This coven of witches has basically handed a free open check book to both CE and DE. Hell, the second on rate increase goes thru [or even before] the utilities are already making a run for another one while crying money issues. [the shit I know is epic on money wastage, the internal electric car program was a total failure from day one and almost the entire fleet did nothing but sit in the back lot for years because they couldn't be used] And McCormick, the Asshole Mi government should have had him behind bars, 2 billion alone in round table trading with Enron should have sealed that bastards fate. DTE (consumers for gas). But I assume those rate hikes didnt go where they were supposed to either way. I feel bad for the crews who know all the weak points but still have to go out and repair the same crap over and over. Im confident any infrastructure upgrades will be directed toward certain industries and the average taxpayer will see little to no benefit. |
When the going gets tough, the tough go cyclic.
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Originally Posted By Rebel31: I don't think any of these companies are really making money on AI just yet. There's a lot of investor, mega company, and tax dollars funding it for now but with the data MS revealed on an earnings call only a low single digit percent of business customers are paying for a CoPilot license. What is going on is that these companies have the money to throw at politicians who then give them money out of the public coffers. Their whole plan was to get someone else to pay for as much of their own pet projects as they can. Basically unloading hundreds of billions worth of cost onto someone else- everything from subsidized energy rates, transmission line upgrades, tax breaks, investments, and land deals signed behind closed doors. I am not anti-AI as I use it daily. We just need to be honest about how all of this is going down and it's leaving a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. I have been against socializing the cost while making the revenue private for a long time on a wide variety of topics such as sports stadiums or bailouts for poorly run companies. Of course they are not making money, they hired the accountants that movie studios use 
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Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: The Trump administration is already reconsidering their 50% hair cut of the Biden Infrastructure Act even 10 billion wasn't enough. There will be a SPARK 2.0 following this. We had serious problems before all this AI nonsense came about, we are down right fucked if we don't get off our collective asses and fix this. Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: Originally Posted By Predicament: The Department of Energy has unveiled $5 billion in spending on projects to upgrade grid and transmission infrastructure across the country, aiming to make more power available to data centers while also lowering electric bills. The announcement marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to assuage homeowners’ fears that the rapid development of artificial intelligence and build-out of data centers will send electricity costs even higher – a concern that has complicated Republicans’ campaigns in the midterm elections. The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it would be committing $1.9 billion in federal funding to new grid investments as part of its Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades initiative. The agency said another $3.35 billion will be granted through recipient cost-share funding, bringing the total investment to around $5.25 billion. The funds are being spread across 31 projects in 26 states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. In total, the administration anticipates that the projects will reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy grid-enhancing technologies across nearly 21,000 miles. “These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The agency estimates that these upgrades will add at least an additional 23 gigawatts of electricity capacity to the grid. The Department of Energy did not provide an estimate for when these projects would be completed. If all 23 gigawatts of capacity are added to the grid, it would help close a crucial supply gap driven by the rapid development of AI data centers. In July, BloombergNEF forecast that 118 gigawatts’ worth of data center capacity will be online in the United States by 2030, up from just 47 gigawatts last year. For comparison, one gigawatt is estimated to be enough to power about 750,000 homes. Some of the projects listed by the administration as recipients of the funding on Thursday explicitly said they aimed to unlock additional capacity to meet data center demand. “Entergy Mississippi, LLC (EML) – Unlocking Grid Capacity for the Southeast’s Next Wave of Data Center & Industrial Growth,” the title of one project reads. “The proposed project will unlock substantial transmission system capacity, giving Northeast Alabama the power needed for large-scale data centers, industrial manufacturers, and major commercial facilities to locate in the area and benefit the region,” another description reads. In addition to providing more transmission capacity, several listed projects are meant to provide more grid resilience, protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events such as wildfires and flooding. For some, this means replacing wooden transmission line structures with steel. The Department of Energy’s funding announced on Thursday was originally allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law under the Biden administration. Also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the bill authorized the agency’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program to provide up to $10.5 billion in funding over five years to states, tribes, and utilities to strengthen the grid. The Trump administration later renamed the program the SPARK initiative. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-and-environment/4741143/energy-department-spending-5-billion-grids-data-centers-bills-infrastructure-bill/ The Trump administration is already reconsidering their 50% hair cut of the Biden Infrastructure Act even 10 billion wasn't enough. There will be a SPARK 2.0 following this. We had serious problems before all this AI nonsense came about, we are down right fucked if we don't get off our collective asses and fix this. Seriously, every utility has spent decades scraping to find efficiencies and decrease customer usage instead of investing in infrastructure and new generation. It's going to be ugly when we start reaching a point where people are out of power while rebuilds need to happen, or customers/substitutions get priority due to lack of generation. |
"Byte My Shiny Metal Brass"
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Originally Posted By m1awolf: You forgot the part where they will also introduce a new tax to "pay" for it all rendering the lower energy costs moot and the plebs will suck it up thinking they got a good deal. Plus they will use eminent domain to bring electricity to data centers. According to our local news they were going through seven different properties with wide power lines. |
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
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Originally Posted By Oldgold: Plus they will use eminent domain to bring electricity to data centers. According to our local news they were going through seven different properties with wide power lines. They should be building out their own generation. The big Data Centers in Texas are all gas powered, at least it prevent the the new load from crashing the grid and driving up prices. Problem is many states won't permit the power plant, so here we are. That is a row of NG turbines to power a data center along the front. 
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How do you do?
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Originally Posted By BMSMB: Seriously, every utility has spent decades scraping to find efficiencies and decrease customer usage instead of investing in infrastructure and new generation. It's going to be ugly when we start reaching a point where people are out of power while rebuilds need to happen, or customers/substitutions get priority due to lack of generation. Originally Posted By BMSMB: Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: Originally Posted By Predicament: The Department of Energy has unveiled $5 billion in spending on projects to upgrade grid and transmission infrastructure across the country, aiming to make more power available to data centers while also lowering electric bills. The announcement marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to assuage homeowners’ fears that the rapid development of artificial intelligence and build-out of data centers will send electricity costs even higher – a concern that has complicated Republicans’ campaigns in the midterm elections. The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that it would be committing $1.9 billion in federal funding to new grid investments as part of its Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades initiative. The agency said another $3.35 billion will be granted through recipient cost-share funding, bringing the total investment to around $5.25 billion. The funds are being spread across 31 projects in 26 states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. In total, the administration anticipates that the projects will reconductor or rebuild more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines and deploy grid-enhancing technologies across nearly 21,000 miles. “These investments will get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The agency estimates that these upgrades will add at least an additional 23 gigawatts of electricity capacity to the grid. The Department of Energy did not provide an estimate for when these projects would be completed. If all 23 gigawatts of capacity are added to the grid, it would help close a crucial supply gap driven by the rapid development of AI data centers. In July, BloombergNEF forecast that 118 gigawatts’ worth of data center capacity will be online in the United States by 2030, up from just 47 gigawatts last year. For comparison, one gigawatt is estimated to be enough to power about 750,000 homes. Some of the projects listed by the administration as recipients of the funding on Thursday explicitly said they aimed to unlock additional capacity to meet data center demand. “Entergy Mississippi, LLC (EML) – Unlocking Grid Capacity for the Southeast’s Next Wave of Data Center & Industrial Growth,” the title of one project reads. “The proposed project will unlock substantial transmission system capacity, giving Northeast Alabama the power needed for large-scale data centers, industrial manufacturers, and major commercial facilities to locate in the area and benefit the region,” another description reads. In addition to providing more transmission capacity, several listed projects are meant to provide more grid resilience, protecting infrastructure from extreme weather events such as wildfires and flooding. For some, this means replacing wooden transmission line structures with steel. The Department of Energy’s funding announced on Thursday was originally allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law under the Biden administration. Also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the bill authorized the agency’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program to provide up to $10.5 billion in funding over five years to states, tribes, and utilities to strengthen the grid. The Trump administration later renamed the program the SPARK initiative. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-and-environment/4741143/energy-department-spending-5-billion-grids-data-centers-bills-infrastructure-bill/ The Trump administration is already reconsidering their 50% hair cut of the Biden Infrastructure Act even 10 billion wasn't enough. There will be a SPARK 2.0 following this. We had serious problems before all this AI nonsense came about, we are down right fucked if we don't get off our collective asses and fix this. Seriously, every utility has spent decades scraping to find efficiencies and decrease customer usage instead of investing in infrastructure and new generation. It's going to be ugly when we start reaching a point where people are out of power while rebuilds need to happen, or customers/substitutions get priority due to lack of generation. Already there ERCOT notified large load customers if the grid gets tight you're getting curtailed. They went so far as to say if DC loads exceed 2.5GW or so in certain areas they will curtail. ERCOT and other operators are scapegoating DC's but in reality this is a problem of their own making. Take a look our TX PUC when that winter storm hit, it was all cronies that had no business turning on a light bulb much less overseeing an electrical grid. ERCOT is so jacked up, they now require voltage ride through at 110% continuously, for large load customers. What these geniuses didn't think about is the every termination point on an oil filled transformer at the medium voltage distribution class is only rated for about 106% over voltage. |
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
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Originally Posted By 2tired2run: Already there ERCOT notified large load customers if the grid gets tight you're getting curtailed. They went so far as to say if DC loads exceed 2.5GW or so in certain areas they will curtail. ERCOT and other operators are scapegoating DC's but in reality this is a problem of their own making. Take a look our TX PUC when that winter storm hit, it was all cronies that had no business turning on a light bulb much less overseeing an electrical grid. ERCOT is so jacked up, they now require voltage ride through at 110% continuously, for large load customers. What these geniuses didn't think about is the every termination point on an oil filled transformer at the medium voltage distribution class is only rated for about 106% over voltage. ERCOT is what happens when you treat a public utility like a for profit business. It's all about buying the cheapest power first, so that is solar and wind, and then buying the baseload generation, Gas, Coal, and Nuclear last. When companies can't get agreement to buy power they won't spend the capital on large baseload generation, and why would they when they can build out more renewables and always sell that power, just one problem no one is left to cover the days when wind is low or the sky is cloudy. ERCOT doesn't give a fuck about off takers, it has no reason to. It just makes the partner as much money as possible. I mean what alternative do people have? It is so retarded because TX, much like ND, still flares enough gas in the oil fields to power the entire state. They also closed 6,400 MW of coal power since 2018... what a shit show. |
How do you do?
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Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: They should be building out their own generation. The big Data Centers in Texas are all gas powered, at least it prevent the the new load from crashing the grid and driving up prices. Problem is many states won't permit the power plant, so here we are. That is a row of NG turbines to power a data center along the front. https://www.texastribune.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SIMON_DJI_20260323081753_0004_V.jpg Awwwww....those are cute what 30-50MW each? Baker Hughes was selling a lot of those based off GE's aeroderivative....basically a 737 turbine bolted to an alternator. What the grid needs it lots of 9HA combined cycle turbines 7-900MW per unit. Some 7HA's will work too. Siemens makes similar but not quite as efficient. |
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
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Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: ERCOT is what happens when you treat a public utility like a for profit business. It's all about buying the cheapest power first, so that is solar and wind, and then buying the baseload generation, Gas, Coal, and Nuclear last. When companies can't get agreement to buy power they won't spend the capital on large baseload generation, and why would they when they can build out more renewables and always sell that power, just one problem no one is left to cover the days when wind is low or the sky is cloudy. ERCOT doesn't give a fuck about off takers, it has no reason to. It just makes the partner as much money as possible. I mean what alternative do people have? It is so retarded because TX, much like ND, still flares enough gas in the oil fields to power the entire state. They also closed 6,400 MW of coal power since 2018... what a shit show. Originally Posted By Firearmsenthusiast: Originally Posted By 2tired2run: Already there ERCOT notified large load customers if the grid gets tight you're getting curtailed. They went so far as to say if DC loads exceed 2.5GW or so in certain areas they will curtail. ERCOT and other operators are scapegoating DC's but in reality this is a problem of their own making. Take a look our TX PUC when that winter storm hit, it was all cronies that had no business turning on a light bulb much less overseeing an electrical grid. ERCOT is so jacked up, they now require voltage ride through at 110% continuously, for large load customers. What these geniuses didn't think about is the every termination point on an oil filled transformer at the medium voltage distribution class is only rated for about 106% over voltage. ERCOT is what happens when you treat a public utility like a for profit business. It's all about buying the cheapest power first, so that is solar and wind, and then buying the baseload generation, Gas, Coal, and Nuclear last. When companies can't get agreement to buy power they won't spend the capital on large baseload generation, and why would they when they can build out more renewables and always sell that power, just one problem no one is left to cover the days when wind is low or the sky is cloudy. ERCOT doesn't give a fuck about off takers, it has no reason to. It just makes the partner as much money as possible. I mean what alternative do people have? It is so retarded because TX, much like ND, still flares enough gas in the oil fields to power the entire state. They also closed 6,400 MW of coal power since 2018... what a shit show. Only thing you missed was subsidized for solar and wind. Be curious to see what that it is going forward since those subsidies got squashed, but the solar and wind providers should have to provide battery systems and synchronous condensers as well to compensate for how they impact the grid. And because of the land requirements, those sources are incredibly long distances from the load centers, but what do they care the rate payer has to pay that costs. The T&D companies are happy to do because they make money on capital expenditures and use them to justify rate hikes. The locals get imminent domained so people hundreds of miles away can get electricity. |
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
