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Renewable or clean power does mean unlimited power. If the demand for power is outpaces the supply, the cost goes up. And not only does this incentivize contin
by swatcoder 3y ago
Renewable or clean power does mean unlimited power.
If the demand for power is outpaces the supply, the cost goes up. And not only does this incentivize continued use of worse sources, it makes other uses of power more expensive.
An AI boom may be an even larger and more lasting strain on power markets than crypto was during its biggest spikes. Given that we don’t really know where this tech will get us, that could be bad. It’s worth tracking and thinking about.
- bee_rider 3y agoIt could also motivate more renewable installations. Over-building on the energy production side should make the energy storage side easier (won’t need to dip into the batteries as often if we can power everything even when the panels are only operating at 50%). Currently I guess they probably run full out all the time. But really AI training seems like it ought to be a pretty shiftable workload. A workload that can produce good economic returns while eating up as much power as we have available during excess times, but which can be shut off easily when we need to shave off the top of the demand peak, could be really nice for the grid.