Revolutionary AI Hub by OpenAI to Match Power Consumption of Entire Texan City!
In approximately 40 miles north of Dallas lies Denton, a city known for hosting two universities, an active farmer’s market, and soon, a colossal data center operated by OpenAI. This data center is projected to double the city’s electricity requirements by 2030 and consume an impressive 390 megawatts of power, making it significantly larger than typical data centers, as reported by Bloomberg.
The nearly 160,000 residents of Denton, which includes a substantial population of over 55,000 college students, may find themselves contending for the city’s power supply once the data center becomes operational. This could potentially lead to elevated electricity bills if demand outstrips supply, a scenario currently prevalent in 13 Northeastern states.
In an effort to accommodate the increased load, local authorities are actively pursuing the construction of new grid infrastructure. The data center will necessitate continuous and unyielding power consumption to maintain the availability of services such as ChatGPT and OpenAI’s developer API. The company is keen on expanding its data center capacity, with CEO Sam Altman having played a significant role in orchestrating President Trump’s Stargate project—a $500 billion investment in AI data centers.
Interestingly, Core Scientific, not OpenAI, holds the title of owner for the Denton site. Transitioning from bitcoin mining, Core Scientific now leases out its data centers to AI companies. The company is set to be acquired by another AI data center firm, CoreWeave, in a $9 billion deal announced recently, as reported by CNBC. This acquisition will make CoreWeave the official future owner of the Denton site.
These large-scale data center projects are proliferating at an accelerated pace across Texas, posing a potential threat to an already fragile grid. The state gained notoriety in 2021’s winter for widespread power outages due to record-low temperatures. Data centers also demand a substantial amount of water for cooling, with The Texas Tribune reporting that the state is facing a water scarcity issue.
According to the Texas Reliability Entity, an organization responsible for assessing power reliability, “The region is forecasting unprecedented [grid] load growth that is primarily driven by…new data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) services.” This significant increase in demand presents a considerable challenge that requires urgent and coordinated action to ensure the consistent supply of electricity to Texas residents.
The potential health implications of living near giant data centers remain unexplored. In another Texas town, residents reported an array of peculiar symptoms after a bitcoin mine began operating nearby, as reported by Andrew Chow of Time Magazine.
