Hi Watchers!
Chevron is leading a partnership to build enough gas-fueled power capacity for 3.5 million homes—alongside new data centers. Generating the full 4GW of electricity from natural gas (specifically, the potent greenhouse gas methane) will emit plenty of greenhouse gas. That’s not even counting the 3% leakage that occurs with all gas usage.The announcement said the projects would integrate carbon capture and renewable generation. We can’t be sure what that means but there is plenty of reason to be skeptical that it will come to much.
These “power foundries” are planned for the US, including its water-stressed West. There is no mention in the announcement of alternative water sources or zero-water cooling, although the data center partners aren’t on board yet.Communities are pushing back increasingly strongly against data center projects. There will be stiff resistance to a project that includes an enormous plant that doesn’t even contribute to the local power supply. Towns in the Midwest are already sharing strategies for discovering and blocking data center projects that are often negotiated in secret.
What do you make of this co-located power idea? If it were renewables plants, how would that change the equation?
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/chevron-ge-vernova-engine-no-1-team-up-to-power-data-centers-976b8089?page=1