A massive data center at xAI’s controversial site in Memphis, Tennessee is emitting huge plumes of pollution, according to footage recorded by an environmental watchdog group.
A massive data center at xAI’s controversial site in Memphis, Tennessee is emitting huge plumes of pollution, according to footage recorded by an environmental watchdog group.
The picture is a heat signature. Obviously heat is released. But why would it release pollution as methane? They are just cooling computers.
As someone who’s around Memphis often, we are having major pollution issues from these generators. There have been several days we have had terrible smog issues lately. Nobody here wants these generators around. They were installed despite fierce opposition from the locals. It’s absolutely horrible.
“But through the lens of Wilson’s optical gas imaging camera, a scientific instrument that is used within the oil and gas industry and by regulators to detect methane emissions, the pollution becomes readily apparent. Huge, billowing plumes of pollution, including large volumes of unburned methane, rise into the atmosphere and drift off-site.”
Have you read the article at all?
I did read that now. But why would it release methane at all? They are cooling computers. Methane is a terrible heat conducting gas last I checked.
Direct quote from the article:
Looks like it’s not just cooling that they’re doing there. The link in the quote leads to an article describing the data centre’s new turbines, specifically referring to them as methane gas turbines.
I skimmed that article briefly and I don’t think it points out the mechanism by which these turbines work - if it does, I must’ve missed it. I did however see a line that said the turbines also release formaldehyde during operation.
Methane in this case seems to me to either be a byproduct of power generation or unused fuel somehow leaking from the system. I have no clue how gas turbines work, so I’m talking out of my ass here. In any case this seems to be the source of the methane emissions.
It’s amazing to me that cloud computing is so profitable that they can run inefficient gas generators to power it.
People don’t think about the internet being fossil fuel powered.
Methane is what the majority of natural gas is made up of, and if your generator isn’t made to be very efficient (like a real power station is), you’ll lose some of your fuel unburnt into the atmosphere.
Kinda like unburnt wood smoke vapour, which could have been burned in a higher quality wood burner, but just goes up the chimney in an open fire.
They’re running generators to power the data centre. Apparently they’re incredibly inefficient if they’re releasing methane
the heat signature is showing the hot methane billowing out of the generators he’s running to power grok.
also he’s using drinking water from the memphis sands aquifer to cool the computers. not greywater, not river water, but clean aquifer water.
please don’t use grok.