Comment on We have brownouts in the summer and Kevin O'Leary wants a Data Center built here.
Zephyr@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
For what it’s worth many data centers include their own power generation. Would be a boon for modular nuclear reactors if they were ready and if the us wasn’t so shy about nuclear. I wonder if other countries are having this issue? Like is there a big pushback to data centers in china, India, UAE, or Singapore? If not then what’s the difference and how are they managing data center development?
Kevin’s data center is going to run on natural gas generators in a valley which already suffers from horrible inversions every year. The Wasatch front valley has some of the worst air quality in the world during the winter.
Nuclear is too expensive for the capitalists building these. They’d rather pollute than pay more money for nuclear.
In this case I’m teferring to the Wonder Valley AI data centre campus, it’s proposed for northwestern Alberta, near Grande Prairie.
Ohhh, I forgot that he had multiple.. what a scumbag.
Not arguing but just curious. I didn’t think natural gas plants heavily affected air quality. I’m aware that fracking has its share of issues. I always thought coal plants were the ones with emissions issues.
Gas burns cleaner than coal, but almost nothing burns 100% clean. Nor is any fuel source 100% pure.
Hold a lighter up to some tinfoil. See the soot?
I mean yeah but is it burning in such a way it’s actually impacting people’s wellbeing? Is it creating that much atmospheric pollution even with waste fume scrubbers? I cook with natural gas and it doesn’t leave soot. I’m not sure where you are but anywhere I’ve been lighters use butane and not natural gas.
Natural gas still causes pollution, just less than coal.
I grew up with natural gas, and if you didn’t turn on the hood it would get nasty inside. It also made our pots and pans turn black during long cooking sessions.
Here’s more info: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/gas-stoves-and-indoor-air-pollution-explained/
A 2024 study from Stanford and PSE Healthy Energy scientists estimates the annual societal cost of NO2 exposure from gas and propane stoves is $1 billion. Burning natural gas and propane has also been shown to generate benzene, a known human carcinogen. A 2023 study from Stanford and PSE Healthy Energy scientists found that a single gas cooktop burner on high could raise indoor levels of benzene above those in secondhand tobacco smoke.
And that’s just from indoor stoves.
The primary component of natural gas is methane. Methane is a colorless, odorless, and highly combustible gas. It is also a powerful climate pollutant. In addition to methane, natural gas contains pollutants which are known to be toxic, linked to cancer, and can form secondary health-damaging pollutants that may impact air quality and human health.
That was part of the natural gas grift: because it’s slightly better than coal, and it has natural in the name, it must be clean! It fooled a lot of people, unfortunately and understandably.
I mean yeah if you displace air with anything you’re going to have a bad time, but I didn’t think natural gas plants were straight up leaking valuable natural gas everywhere like a home stove or gas heater can. The black soot is interesting, must mean the natural gas source was tainted because as far as I know pure natural gas burns totally clean.
I think the small modular reactor concept is overdone. Small doesn’t mean cheap, and cheap is what we want.
The small size isn’t specifically what is intended to make SMRs cheap; it’s the reproducibility. Not every location will be suitable for gigawatt scale reactors, but smaller reactors, made of components you can throw on a rail car, will bring cost down as production scales up. And there would likely be more reactors built, since there’s more flexibility in application.
… Allow me to amend my statement to what was obvious. Small and reproducable doesn’t mean cheap electricity, and cheap electricity is what we want.
I would take carbon free electricity over cheaper electricity any day, but yes those with the money buying power generation want primarily the cheapest energy.
CIA_chatbot@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Yea, they are reopening shut down gas and coal plants, so it’s even fucking worse
Zephyr@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Man modular nuclear would be so good right now, in some cases we could even drop them into decommissioned gas and coal plants aka use the heat exchanger and turbines. Within reason it would be nice to see them fast tracked for this.