Latest news with #powerPlant
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk confirms xAI is buying an overseas power plant and shipping the whole thing to the U.S. to power its new data center — 1 million AI GPUs and up to 2 Gigawatts of power under one roof, equivalent to powering 1.9 million homes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Elon Musk's next xAI data centers are expected to house millions of AI chips and consume so much power that Elon Musk has reportedly bought a power plant overseas and intends to ship it to the U.S., according to Dylan Patel from SemiAnalysis, who outlined xAI's recent progress in a podcast. Interestingly, Musk confirmed the statement in a subsequent tweet. Elon Musk's current xAI Colossus AI supercomputer is already one of the world's most powerful and power-hungry machines on the planet, housing some 200,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs and consuming around an astounding 300 MW of power, and xAI has faced significant headwinds in supplying it with enough power. The challenges only become more intense as the company moves forward — Musk faces a monumental challenge with powering his next AI data center, one that is predicted to house one million AI GPUs, thus potentially consuming the same amount of power as 1.9 million households. Here's how the data center could consume that much power, and how Musk plans to deliver it. Elon Musk's xAI has assembled vast computing resources and a team of talented researchers to advance the company's Grok AI models, Patel said. However, even bigger challenges lay ahead. It is no secret that Elon Musk has already run into trouble powering his existing xAI data center. Currently, the company's main data center, Colossus, which houses 200,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs, is located near Memphis, Tennessee. To power this machine, xAI installed 35 gas turbines that can produce 420 MW of power, as well as deploying Tesla Megapack systems to smooth out power draw. However, things are going to get much more serious going forward. Beyond the Colossus buildout, xAI is rapidly acquiring and developing new facilities. The company has purchased a factory in Memphis that is being converted into additional data center space, big enough to power around 125,000 eight-way GPU servers, along with all supporting hardware, including networking, storage, and cooling. A million Nvidia Blackwell GPUs will consume between 1,000 MW (1 GW) and 1,400 MW (1.4 GW), depending on the accelerator models (B200, GB200, B300, GB300) used and their configuration. However, the GPUs are not the only load on the power system; you must also account for the power consumption of CPUs, DDR5 memory, storage, networking gear, cooling, air conditioning, power supply inefficiency, and other factors such as lighting. In large AI clusters, a useful approximation is that overhead adds another 30% to 50% on top of the AI GPU power draw, a figure typically expressed as PUE (power usage effectiveness). That said, depending on which Blackwell accelerators xAI plans to use, a million-GPU data center will consume between 1,400 MW and 1,960 MW (given a PUE of 1.4). What can possibly power a data center with a million high-performance GPUs for AI training and inference is a big question, as this undertaking is comparable to powering the potential equivalent of 1.9 million homes. A large-scale solar power plant alone is not viable for a 24/7 compute load of this magnitude, as one would need several gigawatts of panels, plus massive battery storage, which is prohibitively expensive and land-intensive. The most practical and commonly used option is building multiple natural gas combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants, each capable of producing 0.5 MW – 1,500 MW. This approach is relatively fast to deploy (several years), scalable in phases, and easier to integrate with existing electrical grids. Perhaps, this is what xAI plans to import to the U.S. Alternatives like nuclear reactors could technically meet the load with fewer units (each can produce around 1,000 MW) with no direct carbon emissions, but nuclear plants take much longer to design, permit, and build (up to 10 years). It is unlikely that Musk has managed to buy a nuclear power plant overseas, with plans to ship it to the U.S. In practice, any organization attempting a 1.4 – 1.96 Gigawatt deployment — like xAI — will effectively become a major industrial energy buyer. For now, xAI's Colossus produces power onsite and purchases power from the grid; therefore, it is likely that the company's next data center will follow suit and combine a dedicated onsite plant with grid interconnections. Apparently, because acquiring a power plant in the U.S. can take too long, xAI is reportedly buying a plant overseas and shipping it in, something that highlights how AI development now hinges not only on compute hardware and software but also on securing massive energy supplies quickly. Without a doubt, a data center housing a million AI accelerators with a dedicated power plant appears to be an extreme measure. However, Patel points out that most leading AI companies are ultimately converging on similar strategies: concentrating enormous compute clusters, hiring top-tier researchers, and training ever-larger AI models. To that end, if xAI plans to stay ahead of the competition, it needs to build even more advanced and power-hungry data centers. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. 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Reuters
26-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Governor announces first Texas Energy Fund loan for 122 MW natural gas facility
June 26 (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Thursday that the first Texas Energy Fund (TEF) loan agreement will be used to fund a 122 megawatt (MW) natural gas power plant in Texas. "Under the loan agreement, subject to customary financial closing procedures, total project costs are not to exceed $175 million, with the PUC providing a 20-year TEF loan of up to $105 million at a 3% interest rate," said a press release on Abbott's official website. The governor's office added that the Kerrville Public Utility Board is the project's sponsor and will develop the facility, which is projected to begin operations by 2027. The facility will interconnect to the South Load Zone adjacent to Houston Load Zone, one of the largest electricity demand centers in the state.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Duke Energy Proposes Gas Power Plant in South Carolina
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) is one of the 12 Best Natural Gas Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) recently revealed that it intends to apply to the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to construct a new natural gas-fired power plant in Anderson County. The company hopes to begin construction in 2027 and put the 1.4 GW facility into operation by 2031. Aerial view of a power plant near a lake lit up at night, showing off the company's expansive electricity generation capabilities. The gas turbines and related equipment for the Anderson plant will be provided by GE Vernova, which recently signed a partnership with Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) to provide the latter with up to 11 gas turbines and associated equipment for its future power plants. The deal is expected to help Duke meet an anticipated record increase in power demand from advanced manufacturing, data centers, and population growth. The development is consistent with Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)'s Carolinas Resource Plan, in which the energy provider identified a need for 6.8 GW of new combined-cycle gas generation and about 2.125 GW of combustion turbine gas generation as part of its recommended portfolio. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy-related services. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers across six states, while its natural gas utilities provide gas to 1.7 million customers across five states in the US. While we acknowledge the potential of DUK as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now and Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Duke Energy Proposes Gas Power Plant in South Carolina
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) is one of the 12 Best Natural Gas Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) recently revealed that it intends to apply to the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to construct a new natural gas-fired power plant in Anderson County. The company hopes to begin construction in 2027 and put the 1.4 GW facility into operation by 2031. Aerial view of a power plant near a lake lit up at night, showing off the company's expansive electricity generation capabilities. The gas turbines and related equipment for the Anderson plant will be provided by GE Vernova, which recently signed a partnership with Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) to provide the latter with up to 11 gas turbines and associated equipment for its future power plants. The deal is expected to help Duke meet an anticipated record increase in power demand from advanced manufacturing, data centers, and population growth. The development is consistent with Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)'s Carolinas Resource Plan, in which the energy provider identified a need for 6.8 GW of new combined-cycle gas generation and about 2.125 GW of combustion turbine gas generation as part of its recommended portfolio. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy-related services. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers across six states, while its natural gas utilities provide gas to 1.7 million customers across five states in the US. While we acknowledge the potential of DUK as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now and Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Al Arabiya
19-06-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Under a hot summer sun, South Carolina's governor says energy law will keep air conditioners humming
Under the hot South Carolina summer sun, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster held a ceremonial bill signing for a law he and other supporters said will ensure the rapidly growing state has the energy to run air conditioners and anything else well into the future. McMaster signed the bill into law more than a month ago. But Wednesday's ceremony was a chance to bring utility executives and other workers together with lawmakers to celebrate the promise from supporters that the law will clear the way to meet the power needs of the 1.5 million people the state has added this century – and its fast industrial growth. 'It is hot and promising to get hotter, so we'll be very quick here. This is, of course, to celebrate a great step for South Carolina,' McMaster said at the ceremony, which lasted less than fifteen minutes before most everyone went back into the air-conditioned mansion. The law has immediate impacts. It clears the way for private Dominion Energy and state-owned Santee Cooper to work together on a 2,000-megawatt natural gas plant on the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Colleton County, as long as regulators give their OK. Utilities now can appeal decisions from those regulators at the Public Service Commission directly to the South Carolina Supreme Court, meaning projects or rate cases won't be in limbo for years as they wind through the courts. Power companies can now ask for smaller rate increases every year instead of hitting customers with what was sometimes a double-digit percent increase to cover inflation and rising costs after four or five years. Also in this session, lawmakers cleared the way for cloud computer companies, utilities, or others to offer to take over the long-abandoned project to build two new nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer site near Jenkinsville. Ratepayers paid billions of dollars on the project, which was abandoned in 2017 well before it generated a watt of power. The feasibility of restarting construction or whether a private entity or a utility could get the licenses and permissions that have lapsed has not been determined. The bill didn't get unanimous support. Some Democrats worried consumer protections and energy efficiency efforts were removed. Some Republicans and Democrats worried the state didn't set limits on data centers and that would allow the computer farms to suck up massive amounts of the new energy and raise costs to homeowners and others while providing few local benefits. But Wednesday was a day to celebrate for someone like Dominion Energy South Carolina President Keller Kissam, sweating in his suit and tie instead of the short-sleeved polo he would prefer to wear. 'With the heat we experience in South Carolina, and you've got to be able to produce twenty-four/seven,' Kissam said. 'Our customers expect when they flip a switch or bump the thermostat there's going to be enough electricity.'
