Renewables require storage because they are bursty - sun goes down, wind stops blowing. This is more expensive than just burning as much nat gas as you need.

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fallingbananna 21 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Presumably, the data center usage could also be bursty, right?

More people will be using AI during the (work)day, than at midnight. Then they could do half solar, half gas.

Also "more expensive" when it comes to solar isn't meaningful until you also consider timeframe. Solar panels pay themselves off in a few years, and after that they basically generate "free" electricity. Gas never becomes cheaper or free, every year it will cost money.

	▲	hahahaa 10 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I doubt it will be bursty. First: global usage. Next: I even wonder why frontiers labs don't sell batch processing and spot prices to keep 100% utilisation. If they do that and I suspect they will it will be 24/7 maxxed. Imagine this: Fable at 98% discount because but you need to wait. Then imagine: bots that scan your tickets for easy low priority tasks to do when those cheap tokens come. Let alone research batch compute needs. Training and so on. One concept will drive this shift: GAAP profitability.
	▲	DennisP 21 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		AWS is heavily used worldwide, not just in the US. The same goes for the big AI companies. Timeframe is accounted for if you look at levelized cost per kWh. The levelized cost of natural gas is 5 to 11 cents/kWh. In the sunniest spots, the levelized cost of solar with enough battery storage to provide 24/7 power is about the same, if you want >90% reliability. The usual four hours of storage is only enough to account for the "duck curve" during the day. https://www.pv-tech.org/solar-pv-and-storage-cost-declines-d... https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/solar-electricity-e... Solar and batteries keep getting cheaper so hopefully they will be clear winners soon, at least in sunny areas.

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hahahaa a day ago | parent | prev [-]

How is it more expensive? Any links? Once built out yeah there is maintainance but no need to drill baby drill anymore.

	▲	therealdrag0 20 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The cost of energy varies widely based on regional factors, geography, existing energy portfolio makeup, etc. Additionally cost is not just the unit price but the price overtime to support a specific SLA. Texas has very cheap gas; it’s also good for solar. They are very competitive price wise, so it’s kinda depressing they are using gas. But it’s probably a slight price edge plus better reliability.