County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to ‘Conserve Electricity’

2 months ago by Nobody_Special to c/technology

Henrico County is a major hub for data centers in Virginia. Its officials said it expects a 25% rise in electricity costs next year, and advised workers to close the blinds and turn off their computers to make up for it.

dan1101 234 points 2 months ago

We all see this coming, but the billionaires and our state/county/city leaders assure us everything will be fair and fine.

Same deal with water. It will be 100 degrees and data centers will be draining local water supplies, while residents will be told not to water their flowers or take too many showers.

Fuck all this.

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rustbuckett 47 points 2 months ago

I love that their solution is to not use the thing that the data centers are supposed to be for.

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pticrix 34 points 2 months ago

Oh don't worry, people in Silicon Valley won't feel the restrictions and will be running their OpenClaw-type chained agents all night long doing absolutely nothing of worth.

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ScoffingLizard 14 points 2 months ago

I'll be so sad when the CEOs get Luigi'd.

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SouthEndSunset 9 points 2 months ago

People will be sacked for turning up to work smelling of sweat. Such fun times.

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EldritchFeminity 1 point 2 months ago

It will be 100 degrees and data centers will be draining local water supplies, while residents will be told not to water their flowers or take too many showers.

Wasn't this already the case like 2 years ago in Texas? Except I remember the governor telling people to drink less water and shower together when possible to save water for the data centers.

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samus12345 133 points 2 months ago

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GnuLinuxDude 100 points 2 months ago

In Virginia during the fifa World Cup there are a lot of pro data center ads funded by a group that was created for this purpose called Virginia Connects.

It’s the usual shitbags lying to the public to make it sound like data centers are good

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XLE 13 points 2 months ago

Are they in cahoots with the PACs that support pro AI candidates? (Are they the same groups? I really don't know.)

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Notyou 4 points 2 months ago

In Virginia ads are still running about not leaving rural Virginians behind by banning data centers. Claiming that they will bring jobs to the rural community but those nasty politicians are banning the progress of data centers.

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pdxfed 98 points 2 months ago

California: 80% of water use is agricultural and industrial but who do they lean on in drought years? Jimmy fucking John and minute showers. Corporations will not budge without force so state goes after the soft target.

Same play here.

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jumjummy 56 points 2 months ago

California also has the stupidest water rights with “use it or lose” it clauses that counters any incentives to become more efficient. A couple families control a ridiculous amount of water rights.

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Itizaj 13 points 2 months ago

The problem is that data centers don't need water, they need cooling, and water is suitable for that because it's the cheapest. They could do the cooling in many other ways, but it costs money

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mig 3 points 2 months ago

The other ways cost money, make noise, and consume more power.

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titanicx 4 points 2 months ago

You mean cost more money. It's not like water is free but it is very cheap to use. But those other ways to cool it cost quite a bit more electricity and aren't nearly as efficient.

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TrippingBalls 2 points 2 months ago

That's typically how the government operates as well. No incentive to use funding wisely and decrease spending

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DupaCycki 74 points 2 months ago

So it's official now. AI comes before schools, and before children. Welp. So much for thinking about the children.

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amgine 39 points 2 months ago

The children only matter in election cycles

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FauxLiving 20 points 2 months ago

and before they're born.

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Doomsider 16 points 2 months ago

The perception that children matter only exists in election cycles.

They never really matter.

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Thebeardedsinglemalt 14 points 2 months ago

And on their private islands

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ShaggySnacks 8 points 2 months ago

And when it comes to starting moral panics to strip away rights.

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EldritchFeminity 1 point 2 months ago

The children only matter when they can't speak for themselves.

That way they can't disagree. It's why they put so much emphasis on the unborn. Once they can speak their own opinion, they're worthless.

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CADmonkey 1 point 2 months ago

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chiliedogg 6 points 2 months ago

Why spend all that money and resources cultivating actual intelligence?

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PhoenixDog 7 points 2 months ago

Because actual intelligence doesn't vote conservative.

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roserose56 4 points 2 months ago

Here comes Abbot's elementary comedy series, where they build a big stadium, but they can't afford to fix the lights in the school.

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Hueristic_Autistic 3 points 2 months ago

Get your passport while you still can

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bridgeenjoyer 65 points 2 months ago

We need Anonymous to do something about data centers.

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Anonymous_Leaker 36 points 2 months ago

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green_goglin 28 points 2 months ago

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Anonymous_Leaker 17 points 2 months ago

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green_goglin 15 points 2 months ago

I prefer calling them clanker lairs

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knomie 18 points 2 months ago

We need Anonymous to do something about data centers.

Don't wait for others to save us.

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bridgeenjoyer 5 points 2 months ago

While I agree, theres nothing I can actually do. Besides inform people of the damage they cause by using big tech, which has gotten me nowhere so far.

If everyone today quit using meta and google products and openai (and voted on laws to keep data centers out, and voted on laws against monopolies) , the entire industry would crumble.

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knomie 2 points 2 months ago

First of all, thank you for (trying) to inform people.

It is really important that we do not see ourselves as passive, waiting for other more skilled people to solve the current problems. Everyone of us can do something. Although sometimes it doesn't turn out as we had hoped, but not trying would bring is nowhere.

I don't exactly know about the organization of anonymous, but for most groups there are a lot of possibilities to support. Legal support, social media and website support, giving interviews, food and material, logistics as a few examples.

You could also join other local groups against datacenters. I think there is a lot of campaigning going on.

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bridgeenjoyer 2 points 2 months ago

I just have no idea how to do it. I mean theres a fb group (ironiiiic) for us against data centers in our state. But that gets us nowhere. I'm afraid something real, physical, is going to actually be needed. they know we won't do anything, and we are too scared of the fascist paramilitary at their disposal.

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NocturnalMorning 33 points 2 months ago

Please sir...can I have some more....electricity

said the poor school to the billionaires

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chahn.chris 28 points 2 months ago

I guess they could light a data center on fire to keep warm and not run their heaters? Win/win?
(Also I hope it’s very obvious to everyone this is a joke, I’m not trying no to incite or encourage violence in any way at all).

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Stern 20 points 2 months ago

Clearly you were talking about doing this in Minecraft, so its okay.

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Warl0k3 4 points 2 months ago

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent steve?"

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melsaskca 18 points 2 months ago

I'm just amazed at the grotesquely huge amounts of copper they have in those datacenters.

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gilokee 10 points 2 months ago

I also hope that data centers "don't" get burnt down. How "un"satisfying would that be. While I'm at it, I hope no one kills the trillionaire.

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ZILtoid1991 25 points 2 months ago

Killdozer needs to come back...

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HugeNerd 7 points 2 months ago

Improve the cooling system first. We are talking about Marvin, right?

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MML 5 points 2 months ago

If you Google the model number their AI will sometimes list the 20 tons of armor as an option like you could just order it that way.

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ShredderFeeder 22 points 2 months ago

County with 37 datacenters can go fuck itself with a cactus.

here come the brownouts motherfuckers...

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betanumerus 21 points 2 months ago

Are they keeping profits from data centres away from schools?

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NottaLottaOcelot 12 points 2 months ago

Educating the kids would be a waste of taxpayer dollars. The only training they need is how to mow the grass around the data centres.

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betanumerus 4 points 2 months ago

I actually saw a robotic mower doing that job just a few months ago. I think it was around a school.

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NottaLottaOcelot 6 points 2 months ago

Well then we just let them starve and blame them for being homeless.

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NewNewAugustEast 20 points 2 months ago

But also, don't forget to teach AI and use AI in your school!

https://www.vaco.org/...

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Catoblepas 1 point 2 months ago

I never understood why we’re supposed to need to be ‘taught’ how to use AI if it’s so good at natural language processing. If the reference desk librarian can understand it and give you what you actually want (not necessarily the exact thing you’re asking for), so should anything being touted as AI.

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Photonic 17 points 2 months ago

I guess they’re in the FO part of FAFO. I really hope this kind of stuff wakes people up enough to do something about it.

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MML 8 points 2 months ago

I least they got all that money and jobs (right? I'm pretty sure Facebook skirted that actually)

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Photonic 12 points 2 months ago

Yeah, those data centers definitely must have employed like, three site managers each! So come to think about: hundreds and hundreds of (… okay a little over 100) people employed in all those centers combined. And all it took was to raise electricity prices by 25% for 350k people

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MML 4 points 2 months ago

They also cut the taxes the corporations pay by 50%, at least they didn't have to build homes or anything useless.

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Evotech 16 points 2 months ago

Don’t need school if you have chat gpt /s

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Anonymous_Leaker 11 points 2 months ago

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antrosapien 9 points 2 months ago

Well.. duh. Data center makes dollar, schools costs dollar

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stermy4u 8 points 2 months ago

An interesting one there, how can schools consumption be compared to that of Data centers

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x00z 7 points 2 months ago

Maybe they just want people to waste time pointing spiderman fingers at eachother for not turning off their computers.

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ShredderFeeder 5 points 2 months ago

No. Next fucking question. I'd rather data centers have brown-outs than schools.

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kadotux 4 points 2 months ago

How does closing the blinds conserve electricity? O_o

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umfk 31 points 2 months ago

Less AC needed.

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kadotux 6 points 2 months ago

Oh that's right, y'all got AC back there. I forgor.

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prole 11 points 2 months ago

I know Europe is scant on AC in general, but you guys really don't even use it in schools? That seems wild to me.

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dubyakay 4 points 2 months ago

No AC in schools. School is out in the summer in general.

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kadotux 2 points 2 months ago

In southern Europe, yes. In northern Europe, generally no need for AC. Remember that Europe is not one country.

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Wizard_Pope 1 point 2 months ago

Most buildings don't have them. Why would schools be any different? Our secondary school was culturally protected so even if they wanted to install one they probably could not. And the only time heat was an issue was during covid when we got assigned the attic classroom. All the other rooms were alright.

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yuknowhokat 1 point 2 months ago

There are a lot of places in the US that don't have AC in schools. The number of days that it would be used just don't happen during the school year enough to justify it.

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Alenalda 3 points 2 months ago

Won't need ac when we're all forced to live underground in a few years. Hello fellow mole people

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sin_free_for_00_days 4 points 2 months ago

Here's an archive link for the few who actually want to read the article.

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Zink 2 points 2 months ago

I wonder if there's any chance of all the tech speculation helping to fund electrical grid upgrades (including grid scale storage for renewables) that actually benefit regular human society after the bubble pops.

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quadrant5835 1 point 2 months ago

Seems unlikely unless the bubble survives another 5+ years. My guess is power companies are taking AI contracts and cash now, promising to add capacity later, and then when the bubble pops they will shrug, say no more capacity is needed, and give the CEOs a huge bonus.

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Greyghoster 1 point 2 months ago

Close to zero unless forced. The question is who will do the forcing?

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