MicroWave1d ago

Trump officials prepping for ‘nightmare scenario’ at gas pumps: reports

https://lemmy.world/post/45052585

Trump officials prepping for ‘nightmare scenario’ at gas pumps: reports - Lemmy.World

White House officials are bracing for oil prices to surge past the $150-a-barrel mark as the Iran war stretches into its second month and the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, according to a new report. In recent weeks, the average cost of a barrel of crude has hovered around $100, a figure that the Trump administration now sees as the new “baseline,” though a potential spike to $200 hasn’t been ruled out, a source familiar with the matter told Politico. As a result, officials have entered “all hands on deck” mode, urgently evaluating options to tame soaring oil prices — which pushed gas above $4 a gallon this week and risks inflating costs across the broader economy.

Show threadhumanspiral10h ago

One idiotic move administration has made is to increase ethanol content of gasoline. Ethanol is corn based in US. Cost of corn is fertilizer based. The futures price of corn has only increased about 10%, while fertilizer costs are up 100%, and so no logical reason to plant corn that has been losing money for farmers for last 5 years.

Easiest plan to bring down energy prices would be to import chinese solar tariff free, to use on ethanol corn fields in Nebraska. Leaving room for Corn between panel rows when it is viable to grow corn for food again. There’s even a path towards 0 cost electricity for 24/7 datacenters or other loads. lemmy.ca/post/59615557?scrollToComments=true

A datacenter in Nebraska can cost 0 in electricity costs if hydrogen can be sold for $2/kg. Free money after 25 years. Chinese cost renewables + 35% for US premium labour. no tariffs. - Lemmy.ca

Includes 1% O&M costs, 5% financing “mortgage” fully paid back in 25 years. # Project Summary: Nebraska “Zero-Cost” 1 kW Baseload Datacenter This model establishes a net-zero electricity cost for a 1 kW continuous datacenter load in Nebraska. It utilizes a Hybrid CapEx Strategy (Chinese hardware + 35% Western Premium) and is financed at a 5% interest rate. ## 1. Core System Configuration * Solar Array: 53 kW DC - Sized to generate sufficient annual H2 revenue to offset all debt. * LFP Battery: 150 kWh - Sized for 24-hour summer H2 operation (130 kWh nightly discharge). * Electrolyzer: 12 kW - High-utilization unit for summer surplus conversion. * Baseload Load: 1 kW - Constant 24/7/365 datacenter power requirement. ## 2. Financial & Cost Assumptions * Financing: 5% annual interest rate over a 25-year amortization term. * Western Premium: A 35% markup on all base Chinese hardware costs to cover logistics, U.S. import duties, and Nebraska-based labor and permitting. * Hardware Base Pricing (Pre-Premium): * Solar Panels: $0.35/Watt * LFP Batteries: $80/kWh * Electrolyzer + BoS: $500/kW * Annual O&M: 1% of total CapEx per year for maintenance and insurance. ## 3. Operational & Environmental Assumptions * Location: Nebraska, USA (~41°N Latitude). * Solar Yield: 1,400 kWh/year per 1 kW of installed solar. * Peak Sun Hours (PSH): * Summer Max (June 21): 7.5 PSH. * Winter Average (Dec/Jan): 1.9 PSH. * H2 Efficiency: 50 kWh per 1 kg of Hydrogen produced. * Water Feedstock: ~9 litres of deionized water per 1 kg of H2. * Byproducts: Oxygen (O2) is vented; no revenue or compression costs included. ## 4. Economic Performance (The “Zero-Cost” Result) * Total System CapEx: $49,316 * Annual Expenses (Debt + O&M): $3,989 * Annual H2 Yield: ~2,000 kg * Required H2 Sale Price: $2.00/kg to achieve breakeven. * Net Cost of Electricity: $0.00 / kWh (fully subsidized by H2 sales). ## 5. Seasonal & Winter Analysis ### Summer Max (June 21) * System achieves 24-hour saturation of the 12 kW electrolyzer. * Total Daily Production: ~397 kWh. ### Winter Average (Dec/Jan) * Average Daily Production: 100.7 kWh. * Daily Baseload Demand: 24.0 kWh. * Average Winter Surplus: 76.7 kWh/day (used for H2 or sold). ### Resiliency (Dark Day Buffer) * The 150 kWh battery can sustain the 1 kW load for ~6 days of 0% solar production. * Deficit Strategy: Any deficit beyond 6 days is covered by Employee BEVs at a payout of 20¢/kWh.

Show threadboonhet10h ago

Your linked AI slop post has a LOT of assumptions and it’s kinda expensive. If the total system capex is 50k for 1 kW load, it’ll be 500 million for a modern 10MW data center. Then covering the deficit off employee BEVs for peanuts a kWh: That assumes you have enough employees for that and that they’re willing to wear their batteries for this.

But yes, the whole ethanol requirement is stupid for a country that has its own oil anyway

Show threadhumanspiral
You’re right about cost assumptions of renewables. Like I said, tariff free Chinese costs + 30% local premium results in 0 electricity costs if $2/kg hydrogen revenue. Higher costs would still pay off at 10c/kwh from datacenter/other sales.
5:40pmWeb