Two Washington Post stories on Slashdot this weekend pull in different directions on AI data centers.
Prices: smaller than you’d think
A Harvard and Penn study says data centers caused only about 4% of utility rate increases over the last five years, though industrial customers see a bit more. MIT found a 2.1% bump for homes between 2010 and 2024, and an EPRI study found doubling data center capacity from 2019 to 2024 came with a 4% drop in home prices. Hot spots like the PJM grid (Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio) are the exception.
Emissions: a lot bigger
The other piece says tech companies are driving a wave of giant gas-fired plants that could lock in hundreds of millions of tons of carbon for decades. Amazon’s footprint hit 80.85 million metric tons last year, 58% higher than when Bezos pledged to shrink it. Some estimate tech’s share of global emissions could grow up to fivefold from 2020 to 2030. The companies say the surge is temporary.
My take
Both can be true. The power bill story looks better than the headlines, but the gas plants being built now will run for decades. That’s the part I’d watch.
God Bless, and Use the Source!
