AkaSci 🛰️May 13

After a short delay of the vote last week, county commissioners approved the gargantuan Stratos AI data-center in Utah.

~40,000 acres, 9GW using gas from a nearby pipeline, plus water in a drought-stricken area.

Kevin O’Leary, the VC who appears on the TV show Shark Tank, claimed that most of the protesters don’t live locally and have been paid to object to the project.

That now seems to be the standard response from republicans and tech-bros.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/13/utah-approves-datacenter-backlash?
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Show threadAkaSci 🛰️May 13

In related news, NV Energy, the Nevada utility that has supplied the bulk of Lake Tahoe’s electricity for decades, will stop providing power after May 2027 - to meet the demand of ... AI data centers.

The ~50,000 residents of Lake Tahoe will be left without power, unless the local utility can find an alternate source by then, probably at some higher price.

https://fortune.com/2026/05/12/lake-tahoe-data-center-49000-residents-power-source/
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Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers

Roughly 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents could lose 75% of their power after their energy provider said it's directing energy to neighboring data centers.

Fortune
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@AkaSci
Less a public Utility than an agency holding the public to ransom.
Time for another system, I'd think.
May 14 at 11:58amWeb