A Good Start

In response to concerns about stability of the power grid, the Public Utility Commission of Texas has halted power connections for data centers,

Given the rather precarious state of Texas' power grid, this is good policy ……… In Texas ……… Will wonders ever cease?

Nowhere is the US data center boom bigger than in Texas. But less than a year after declaring Texas the “epicenter of AI development,” Governor Greg Abbott has declared a moratorium on all new power grid connections for data centers—at least until developers provide more information about their projects’ potential impacts on the grid and communities.

The Republican governor directed regulators in an August 3 announcement at the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the grid operators at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to perform a “comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process.” As an independent system operator, ERCOT oversees a power grid that operates separately from the rest of the United States and provides services to most of Texas.

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Abbott also directed state regulators and grid operators to discover the extent to which data centers’ cooling systems and water usage may draw upon local water supplies needed by local communities. However, the governor’s directive does not mention the fact that data centers often use much more water through their power generation sources than directly through their cooling systems—a fact highlighted by researchers like Shaolei Ren at the University of California, Riverside.

First Tom Delay, and now this.  

Would someone find out what it is that they have been smoking in Texas recently, and have 20 grams sent to me.