Anthropic struck a deal with a Texas-based energy company for gas-fired engines meant to provide AI data centers with electricity.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/74728400

Anthropic struck a deal with a Texas-based energy company for gas-fired engines meant to provide AI data centers with electricity.

  • meat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    53·
    1 day ago

    “Last month, environmental nonprofit Sierra Club estimated that upcoming AI data centers could release 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, wiping out nearly 15 years worth of greenhouse gas reduction efforts.”

    That’s… disappointing and impressive.

    • Womble@piefed.worldEnglish
      55·
      1 day ago

      If you click through the link it is that the us power sector is estimated to emit that much by 2030. Awful journalism by futurism to report that as “AI” will.

      • The_Decryptor@aussie.zoneEnglish
        61·
        22 hours ago

        That’s only half the quote

        The US power sector would emit 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, after factoring in planned AI projects, which is 618 million tons more than 2025 levels, or about a 42% increase.

        So the estimated total increase is 618 million tons

        The bulk of the expected emissions by 2030 would come from sources that are not directly linked to the grid, often built by tech companies to avoid the long wait for a connection. These could exceed 460 million tons, Fisher said, roughly the same as the annual emissions of Mexico.

        So over 460 million tons of the 618 estimate is primarily datacenters, nearly 3x of the rest of the country, which is only using 158 tons more.

        • Womble@piefed.worldEnglish
          22·
          21 hours ago

          Sure, data centres using off grid generation seems to be a large source of increase of emissions, but calling a part of 460 million tonnes (I assume that given that it says often built for tech companies means not all are) 2100 million tonnes is bad journalism. Inflating numbers when the true ones are bad enough just hurts your credibility.

      • floofloof@lemmy.caOP
        2·
        21 hours ago

        The Bloomberg article (archive link) cites several studies that make different projections about the amount emissions will increase, but all agree that the cause is additional fossil-fuel-based power generation for AI data centers. There’s consensus that the cause of severely increased US emissions is AI data centers. No one is suggesting it comes from anywhere else.

      • GloomyDorje@lemmy.world
        27·
        22 hours ago

        They write with such a heavy anti AI bias, that i can’t trust anything they puplish about the subject any longer. I am critical of AI myself, but i don’t want journalism to uncritically engage with any subject.