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A comment on Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents pay the price. Parent comment

Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by detourdog on Thursday November 12, 2026 @04:14PM (#50474381)
There are rural parts of Massachusetts that have run out of natural gas and electric delivery bandwidth. The simplest solution is non-grid connected power and heat generation. Doing this requires no real change in regulation since the power sources are stand alone. Local building codes are the only regulations.
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Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by cowlevel on Thursday November 12, 2026 @05:32PM (#50475322)
isn't the simplest solution to upgrade the grid? What non-connected power do you envision that isn't natural gas and isn't so expensive you may as well connect it to the grid and upgrade the grid to handle it?
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Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by detourdog on Thursday November 12, 2026 @07:30PM (#50476500)
Solar PV and solar thermal. Batteries and insulation. Our population density is very low. More efficient heating would go a long way and the upgrades would help the local trades. Using less is the same as generating more. We could also go micro grid and turn our sewage treatment into anerobic digester and we are surrounded by wind farm. Our entire county would need a wind farm a third the size of cape wind 100k homes.

I’d upgrading the grid made sense I assume National Grid and Berkshire Gas would do it.

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Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by cowlevel on Friday November 13, 2026 @02:52AM (#50479843)
Where are you putting acres of photovoltaics that are so cheap they're not worth upgrading the transmission as well?
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Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by detourdog on Friday November 13, 2026 @06:08AM (#50481814)
The roof.
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Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by cowlevel on Friday November 13, 2026 @06:23AM (#50481949)
Whose roof?
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Re:Data centers need power – lower income, rural residents p... by cucumber3732842 on Thursday November 12, 2026 @09:33PM (#50477368)
>isn't the simplest solution to upgrade the grid?

On paper, sure.

In reality they'd probably have to secede from the state to do it.

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