Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power
Washington Post via Yahoo Finance ^ | April 5, 2024 | Evan Halper

Posted on 04/06/2024 5:39:05 PM PDT by John W

Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid.

In Georgia, demand for industrial power is surging to record highs, with the projection of new electricity use for the next decade now 17 times what it was only recently. Arizona Public Service, the largest utility in that state, is also struggling to keep up, projecting it will be out of transmission capacity before the end of the decade absent major upgrades.

Northern Virginia needs the equivalent of several large nuclear power plants to serve all the new data centers planned and under construction. Texas, where electricity shortages are already routine on hot summer days, faces the same dilemma.

(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona; US: Georgia; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: biden; bidensfault; charging; datacenters; ecars; electricgrid; electricity; ev; infrastructure; nuclear; nuclearenergy; nuclearpower; nuclearreactors; powergrid; powerplants; smokestacks; utilities
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-88 next last
To: John W

AOC will introduce a bill to install more wall outlets, in order to increase the electricity supply. Morning Joe will praise her wisdom.


41 posted on 04/06/2024 8:04:09 PM PDT by Bernard (“God's cruelest punishment is to let you reap what you sow.”)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fungi
"Soon you will see large private entities build their own power generating facilities to power their own needs. Think Google, Microsoft and large tract homeowners."

You know they must be considering that. If one of their data centers goes down the business will suffer badly.

42 posted on 04/06/2024 8:40:31 PM PDT by MV=PY (The Magic Question: Who's paying for it?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: John W

Let the utility companies return to the most efficient and economically sound way of producing electricity, and the electricity shortage problem will be solved very quickly.


43 posted on 04/06/2024 8:41:13 PM PDT by wjcsux (On 3/14/1883 Karl Marx gave humanity his best gift, he died. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

For the love of the Almighty revoke Jimmy Carter’s ban on nuclear reprocessing and build out modular fast reactors like they are building in WY on a former coal plant site. 300MW with 500MW peak rating molten salt loop between it’s thermal plant and it’s secondary and primary sodium loops meltdown impossible based on physics of the fuel and sodium pool. Sodium salts down react violently with metallic sodium they already are fully oxidized. You can.use the high temp salt loop for.desalination, district heat or cooling and industrial heating or cooking it’s 600+F using a high temp heat pump you can get to 1000C and then go for cement kiln heat or turn biomass into syngas for synthetic fuels on massive scale think Jet A and ship plus railroad fuels things that will never be electric. Trucks for regional the Tesla Semi is proving to be a solid technology answer on a cents per mile basis.

Long haul should be on trains it’s four times more efficient and doesn’t trash our roads at 16,000 times the wear rates of light duty vehicles but trucker unions will never allow the shift to rail for long haul and only regional trucking. So synthetic natural gas makes sense or hydrogen or alcohols all of which are clean burning something diesel cannot do again due to its long carbon chains soot vs NOx is always a trade off Sir Newton must be honored.

Build nukes by the hundreds in an Henry Ford style line.


44 posted on 04/06/2024 9:53:41 PM PDT by GenXPolymath
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CatOwner

Not to mention not allowing any drilling for oil and natural gas.


45 posted on 04/06/2024 10:35:57 PM PDT by Jean2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: John W
This cold be a very real and serious crisis mainly wrought by crypto mining. It takes a huge HVAC system to cool their servers. So much in fact that the noise created by the chillers and cooling towers make them undesirable for residential areas.

OK now for the part that has to be given priority. Hospitals would be high on the legit need list and they do require massive amounts of cooling for diagnostics. Our communications grid is high on the list as would be normal legitimate operations to keep the nation running. Skyscrapers use this type of cooling system also.

Just on what a major level one hospital pays for electrical power in a month you could likely retire and live comfortably. If those units are shut down bad things happen. Besides the MRI' CT, etc shutting down the floors in the hospital would start sweating. I don't mean people I mean the concrete floors. I'm a retired HVAC/Electrical healthcare facility maintenance mechanic. I also worked on chillers in the Navy. Our A/C units were the largest single power demand on the ship and we had 2000 Ton cooling capacity spread out over 10 chill water units. That was in the late 1970's.

I have been on social media trying to explain to the Cult Green Energy EV worshippers why our power grid will not handle this and where we are headed. Not even TVA the nations largest electrical power producer is ready. December 2022 we had rolling blackouts on Christmas Eve and Day for the demand of a typical cold snap. TVA is still hell bent on shutting down coal fired steam plants.

It seems this is administration is trying to inflict as much damage in as many critical places as it can. One can hope the EV producers are figuring this out and cutting production likely to ero after government contracts are filled.

46 posted on 04/07/2024 12:10:21 AM PDT by cva66snipe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cva66snipe

cva66snipe:

It seems this is administration is trying to inflict as much damage in as many critical places as it can.

bttt

47 posted on 04/07/2024 12:23:55 AM PDT by linMcHlp
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: John W

because...

Democrats


48 posted on 04/07/2024 1:18:39 AM PDT by Samurai_Jack (This is not about hypocrisy, this is about hierarchy!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

When reality collides with fantasy and they keep hitting the snooze alarm until the clock is a pile of rubble.


49 posted on 04/07/2024 3:38:34 AM PDT by USCG SimTech
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Bob434

“they will claim that ‘too many people use the internet, creating too much demand.”

I think you are on to something there. But I think it will be more like a “reduce the load” situation where they get rid of all personal blogs, social media, and forums where personal opinions can be stated. But they will leave all ecommerce, propaganda machine news outlets, and government portals so that government workers can still get paid to do nothing and let the machine handle it all.


50 posted on 04/07/2024 3:46:13 AM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: USCG SimTech; metmom

“When reality collides with fantasy and they keep hitting the snooze alarm until the clock is a pile of rubble.”

Like metmom says, it is a feature, it is the end goal. They are using those who live in a make believe fantasy world to create a situation where they can eventually flip off the switch and commit mass extermination. No electricity at all is the true end goal. They are purposely overloading it so it breaks for good.


51 posted on 04/07/2024 3:54:41 AM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

Comment #52 Removed by Moderator

To: Uncle Miltie

Plug in a Tesla, tear down a dam, kill millions of salmon!


53 posted on 04/07/2024 4:29:33 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: John W

Cloward-Piven.


54 posted on 04/07/2024 4:38:23 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (If it's Boeing, I ain't going!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W
Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country

Who do you think they'll shut off first? You and I or those data centers and factories?

55 posted on 04/07/2024 4:49:16 AM PDT by Pollard ( Seed Room Wx: 66 degrees - 43% humidity)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: metmom

Exactly. Though I wouldn’t say it’s a simple left/right thing.


56 posted on 04/07/2024 4:56:29 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: John W
OH THERE IS PLENTY OF POWER TO GO AROUND, ESPECIALLY FOR ALL OF THOSE EV CHARGING STATIONS !



57 posted on 04/07/2024 4:56:58 AM PDT by Candor7 (Ask not for whom Trump Trolls,He trolls for thee!),<img src="" width=300</img><a href="">tag</a>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom

All I hear from china is the steady grind of progress.


58 posted on 04/07/2024 5:09:28 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Procrastination is just a form of defiance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Jyotishi

One set up shop in a small coastal Alaska town with a power plant once used for the cannery. He occupied that building and is happy to use the hydro power.


59 posted on 04/07/2024 5:10:34 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Procrastination is just a form of defiance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: John W

they want a mortgage payment outta you for electricity


60 posted on 04/07/2024 5:11:12 AM PDT by mo ("If you understand, no explanation is needed; if you don't understand, no explanation is possible)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-88 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson