[ExI] Where's the electricity power coming from?

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of
BillK via extropy-chat
Sent: Monday, 6 October, 2025 7:48 AM
To: Extropy Chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Cc: BillK <pharos at gmail.com>
Subject: [ExI] Where's the electricity power coming from?

This article states that OpenAI will soon require three more Hoover Dams'
worth of electricity.
<https://www.reuters.com/business/amd-signs-ai-chip-supply-deal-with-openai-
gives-it-option-take-10-stake-2025-10-06/>
And so will all the other AI companies worldwide.
So I asked Perplexity AI to research that problem.
And it panicked!  :)
It pointed out that the electricity grids around the USA and the world
cannot cope with the additional power demands.
And sufficient power will not be generated for many years to come.
That means years of investment in both the grid and power generation.
All the usual suspects were mentioned for power generation and upgrading the
grids. But these all take years to build. What it boils down to is that
nobody has planned for this scale of upgrade, and therefore it probably
won't happen in time.

BillK
_______________________________________________


BillK, thx for that.  Three more Hoover Dams we can do.  Alls we need to do
is first build three more Colorado Rivers.  We are working that second part.

I do wish to take exception with the comment that ...nobody has planned for
this scale of upgrade...  

On the contrary sir, PLEEEEEENTY of us have recognized that opportunity and
saw it coming even before Elon set up an electric car factory within walking
distance from my house about a decade ago (thanks Elon.)  It wasn't just
electric cars however.  Way back when we were trying to harness the
computing power of background processing, sheesh thirty years ago, we saw
all this coming and realized the scale of the necessary power grid upgrade.

I have long believed that in the next ten to twenty years, the biggest and
best potential investment strategies, the stuff most likely to return a
buttload of profit at reasonably low risk, will be in and around building
more power generation and upgrading the infrastructure to carry that power
into where there are high concentrations of people who don't want power
plants anywhere near their homes.  

Big money to be made there BillK, and the British can play too.
Understatement: I can easily imagine British investors being a huge
contributor to upgrading both US-based and British power generation and
distribution networks (Britain and everywhere else will need to upgrade
their power networks.)  I am toying with another idea: even better than US
power generation as an investment opportunity, might be German power
generation and distribution.  I read they made some unfortunate choices with
their solar power installations, many of which will likely to be retired
soon.  There will be big profit for investors in straightening out their
power grid.

spike