AI needs so much power that old coal plants are sticking around

Re:AI needs so much power that old coal plants are sticking ... by jes5199 on Monday February 12, 2024 @06:17PM (#39351913)

we’re crossing a tipping point where new solar is cheaper than existing coal in many places. So this is a short-term problem

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Re:AI needs so much power that old coal plants are sticking ... by nwiswell on Monday February 12, 2024 @06:26PM (#39352019)

But AI hardware is much, much more expensive than either of them. Clearly it's not acceptable to simply shut AI training off at night, so solar is not a complete solution.

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Re:AI needs so much power that old coal plants are sticking ... by jes5199 on Monday February 12, 2024 @09:50PM (#39353726)

cost curves suggest solar+battery will be cheaper than coal by the end of the 2020s, if it’s not already

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Re:AI needs so much power that old coal plants are sticking ... by nwiswell on Monday February 12, 2024 @10:36PM (#39354018)

You mean new solar+battery will be cheaper than new coal plants, yes.

This is a question of whether to turn old coal plants back on.

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Re:AI needs so much power that old coal plants are sticking ... by toomuchtodo on Monday February 12, 2024 @06:21PM (#39351966)

Renewable PPAs for AI compute would help bridge the gap.

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