OpenAI pitches data center power plants as a way to protect nearby areas
OpenAI pitches data center power plants as a way to protect nearby areas. As public opinion has soured on data centers, it’s selling ‘AI campuses’ as protectors, instead of noisy polluters.
OpenAI 提议将数据中心发电厂作为保护周边地区的一种方式。由于公众对数据中心的看法日益恶化，该公司正试图将“人工智能园区”包装成保护者，而非制造噪音的污染源。
In an announcement on Monday, OpenAI says it will pilot its “Grid Protectors Program” at an upcoming data center in Effingham County, Georgia, where the company promises to free up to 1,000 megawatts of power during extreme weather or emergencies, enough to power air conditioners in around 700,000 homes.
在周一的一份公告中，OpenAI 表示将在佐治亚州埃芬汉县即将建成的数据中心试点其“电网保护者计划”。该公司承诺在极端天气或紧急情况下释放高达 1000 兆瓦的电力，这足以满足约 70 万户家庭的空调供电需求。
The announcement comes as opposition to data centers spreads across the US, in response to massive projects that have begun development and construction, frequently with little or no input from local residents. In Utah, residents protested after Box Elder County commissioners signed off on a data center expected to consume more than double the state’s peak electricity demand in 2025, and spread hot air in the desert valley surrounding the data center.
此次公告发布之际，美国各地对数据中心的反对声浪日益高涨，以回应那些在几乎没有或完全没有征求当地居民意见的情况下就开始开发和建设的大型项目。在犹他州，博克斯埃尔德县的专员批准了一个数据中心项目，该项目预计耗电量将超过该州 2025 年电力峰值需求的两倍，并会向数据中心周围的沙漠山谷排放热气，引发了当地居民的抗议。
Now OpenAI’s approach is to pitch the construction of power plants that feed the electricity required by the new AI data centers it’s building as “a resource that utilities can call on when communities need it most.”
目前，OpenAI 的策略是将为其新建人工智能数据中心供电的发电厂建设宣传为“当社区最需要时，公用事业部门可以调用的资源”。
Several states like Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, and others have enacted laws that say they will prevent AI companies from passing energy costs on to residents, in addition to moratoriums and other restrictions. This is besides the environmental impacts, as a recent study by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) said that powering proposed Texas data center projects could undo decades of air quality gains over just five years.
除了暂停令和其他限制措施外，田纳西州、佛罗里达州、俄克拉荷马州、俄勒冈州等多个州已颁布法律，旨在防止人工智能公司将能源成本转嫁给居民。此外，环境影响也不容忽视，休斯顿高级研究中心（HARC）最近的一项研究指出，为拟议中的德克萨斯州数据中心项目供电，可能会在短短五年内抵消过去几十年来在空气质量改善方面取得的成果。
OpenAI, which has switched to calling its AI data centers “compute campuses” in an effort to separate from their poor public reputation, claims it helps reduce costs for customers by operating year-round.
OpenAI 已将其人工智能数据中心改称为“计算园区”，试图以此摆脱其糟糕的公众声誉。该公司声称，通过全年运营，这有助于降低客户的成本。
“Electricity demand also rises and falls with the seasons, with different regions facing their biggest peaks at different times,” OpenAI’s announcement says. “Our compute campuses need power year-round. With the right agreements, that steady demand can help spread the grid’s fixed costs across more electricity sales, while flexibility lets us reduce demand when the system is busiest.”
OpenAI 的公告称：“电力需求会随季节波动，不同地区面临的用电高峰时间也不同。我们的计算园区需要全年供电。通过达成适当的协议，这种稳定的需求有助于将电网的固定成本分摊到更多的电力销售中，而灵活性则使我们能够在系统最繁忙时减少需求。”
OpenAI says it’s going to continue working with policymakers and utility services to make “arrangements for our future campus to reduce electricity demand when the grid is under strain.” Along with its data center in Georgia, OpenAI is also partnering with Oracle and SoftBank to build its “Stargate” data centers across the US, including in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and Milam County, Texas.
OpenAI 表示，将继续与政策制定者和公用事业服务部门合作，为未来的园区做出安排，以便在电网承压时减少电力需求。除了佐治亚州的数据中心外，OpenAI 还与甲骨文和软银合作，在美国各地建设其“星际之门”（Stargate）数据中心，选址包括德克萨斯州的沙克尔福德县、新墨西哥州的唐娜安娜县以及德克萨斯州的米拉姆县。