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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGA AI data center construction, ENERGY RATES, & related election. (not just a vid!)
I know I haven't been around since the orange one took office (trying to stay sane wow) but this came up on my YT feed and I have to get the word out. Please share it around.
GA is in line for possible AI data center construction. These data centers suck up lots of power. Who is going to pay for it?
Do you care about your energy rates and want to have some say in how they are handled? VOTE. Early voting is going on now, and Election day is Nov 4.
https://www.wabe.org/a-quick-guide-to-georgias-2025-public-service-commission-elections/
All Georgia voters elect commissioners, meaning any registered voter in Georgia can vote for both seats on the ballot, regardless of where they live.
Very informative video on this issue:
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GA AI data center construction, ENERGY RATES, & related election. (not just a vid!) (Original Post)
crickets
Wednesday
OP
crickets
(26,166 posts)1. Great post about this issue from RandySF in the GA forum:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10466563
Over the next few weeks, Georgia voters will have the opportunity to decide who will represent them on the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). Despite its low profile, the PSC has a large influence on the lives of Georgians due to its ability to regulate utility companies and stop electricity bills from climbing ever higher. Two seats on the five-person commission are up for grabs this Election Day, and this statewide election is an opportunity for Georgians to make their voices heard on bill affordability and the state of the environment. (more)
progressoid
(52,177 posts)2. The Hidden Behemoth Behind Every AI Answer
What happens when you say Hello to ChatGPT?
Such a simple query might seem trivial, but making it possible across billions of sessions requires immense scale. While OpenAI reveals little information about its operations, weve used the scraps we do have to estimate the impact of ChatGPTand of the generative AI industry in general.
OpenAIs actions also provide hints. As part of the United States Stargate Project, OpenAI will collaborate with other AI titans to build the largest data centers yet. And AI companies expect to need dozens of Stargate-class data centers to meet user demand.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-energy-use
The Schneider Electric report estimates that all generative AI queries consume 15 TWh in 2025 and will use 347 TWh by 2030; that leaves 332 TWh of energyand compute powerthat will need to come online to support AI growth. That implies the construction of dozens of data centers along the lines of the Stargate Project, which plans to build the first ever 1-gigawatt facilities. Each of these facilities will theoretically consume 8.76 TWh per yearso 38 of these new campuses will account for the 332 TWh of new energy required.
347 TWh = 47 Nuclear Reactors just for AI
While estimates for AI energy use in 2030 vary, most predict a dramatic jump in consumption. The gain in energy consumption will be driven mostly by AI inference (the power used when interacting with a model) instead of AI training. This number could be much lower or much higher than the Schneider Electric estimate used here, depending on the success of AI agents that can work togetherand consume energyindependent of human input.
Such a simple query might seem trivial, but making it possible across billions of sessions requires immense scale. While OpenAI reveals little information about its operations, weve used the scraps we do have to estimate the impact of ChatGPTand of the generative AI industry in general.
OpenAIs actions also provide hints. As part of the United States Stargate Project, OpenAI will collaborate with other AI titans to build the largest data centers yet. And AI companies expect to need dozens of Stargate-class data centers to meet user demand.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-energy-use
The Schneider Electric report estimates that all generative AI queries consume 15 TWh in 2025 and will use 347 TWh by 2030; that leaves 332 TWh of energyand compute powerthat will need to come online to support AI growth. That implies the construction of dozens of data centers along the lines of the Stargate Project, which plans to build the first ever 1-gigawatt facilities. Each of these facilities will theoretically consume 8.76 TWh per yearso 38 of these new campuses will account for the 332 TWh of new energy required.
347 TWh = 47 Nuclear Reactors just for AI
While estimates for AI energy use in 2030 vary, most predict a dramatic jump in consumption. The gain in energy consumption will be driven mostly by AI inference (the power used when interacting with a model) instead of AI training. This number could be much lower or much higher than the Schneider Electric estimate used here, depending on the success of AI agents that can work togetherand consume energyindependent of human input.
This article is part of The Scale Issue. https://spectrum.ieee.org/special-reports/scale/