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Solar is dirt cheap in China, where 85% of panels are produced. The problem is they're made in China and face tariffs/import bans in the US/Europe. Nat gas is
by ravst3s 2mo ago
Solar is dirt cheap in China, where 85% of panels are produced. The problem is they're made in China and face tariffs/import bans in the US/Europe.
Nat gas is preferred for AI DCs because it has faster time-to-market, doesn't have the intermittency issues. Training on solar + storage is an issue because of network synchronization.
- frollogaston 2mo agoI get the gas turbine for semi-temp power when there's not enough grid support, but Google leadership is talking about doing this long-term and at scale: https://www.gstatic.com/marketing-cms/79/80/fb229abf40efa81ebe72d6d72437/powering-new-era-of-american-innovation.pdf https://www.gstatic.com/marketing-cms/79/80/fb229abf40efa81e... . Not a single mention of "solar" or "renewable" in there. Are they just trying to appease Trump administration?
- philipkglass 2mo agoGoogle may not have written about it in that document, but they're funding what will be the highest storage capacity battery system in the world for a renewable-powered data center in Minnesota: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/worlds-largest-grid-battery-part-of-google-xcel-energy-agreement/813793/ https://www.utilitydive.com/news/worlds-largest-grid-battery...
- frollogaston 2mo agoThat's great news then, I hope they continue in that direction.