Germany’s green movement was propelled mainly by activists opposed to nuclear power in the 1980s and 90s. Since then, Germany has shut down its entire fleet of nuclear power reactors and is struggling to keep the lights on with renewable energy, mainly wind and sun.
Today German activists are focused on shutting down the remaining fossil fuel power, which in a normal world would make nuclear power attractive again. But not for the fundamentalist enviro-nutjobs. However, they may need to give in if they want to continue enjoying the amenities of the modern digital world and smartphones.
Blackout News here reports. “After Oracle and Microsoft, Google also plans to power its data centers with nuclear power.” apparently, wind and sun just don’t make the grade. CO2-neutrality just won’t be possible without nuclear power.
“Google’s leadership confirms the company is working on large-scale data centers that require over 1 gigawatt of electricity. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, spoke last week at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh about the potential use of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) for power generation,” reports Blackout News, citing powermag.
According to reports, Google is currently forming a team to research alternative energies without CO₂ emissions and plans to use small modular nuclear reactors to power its AI data centers.
“We are now working on data centers with over 1 gigawatt of power. Two years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined that, and all of that requires energy,” said Pichai in Pittsburgh.
Today, many of Google’s data centers operate on a basis of about 90 percent CO2-free. But 100% won’t be possible without nuclear, it appears.
Pichai said he sees money going into SMRs …for nuclear energy and that he’s optimistic about the medium to long term energy needs being met.
As AI expands, so is the interest in data centers, which require enormous amounts of power to operate. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison plans to invest more than 10 billion dollars in building data centers and Microsoft aims to restart the reactor at the decommissioned Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania to meet the energy requirements for AI.
“Microsoft last week said it wants to restart a reactor at the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to power its AI needs. The company in January said a demonstration project in Wyoming, as part of a collaboration with Caterpillar and Ballard Power, showed how hydrogen fuel cells can provide power for a data center,” reports powermag here.
Amazon Web Services plans to buy power from the 2.5-GW Susquehanna nuclear plant for its nearby data center campus.
Big Tech’s move to nuclear energy to power its data centers show that green energies like wind and sun alone cannot meet the energy needs of our modern digital world.
Read entire article at powermag.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/09/30/the-green-new-folly-how-virtue-signaling-killed-a-ferry-and-wasted-millions/
The Mis-fortune of Missunde
In Schleswig-Holstein’s verdant land,
A grand eco-dream was poorly planned.
Missunde III, the electric ferry,
Turned out to be not so merry.
“Don’t pay the ferryman,” the old song goes,
But millions were paid, as the budget rose.
From seven to fourteen, the millions flew,
While taxpayers watched, their faces blue.
The politicians, oh so green,
Promised a future yet unseen.
“Electric power!” they did proclaim,
“We’ll cross the Schlei and earn our fame!”
But when the winds began to blow,
Missunde couldn’t even go.
It drifted left, it drifted right,
A most embarrassing sight.
The eco-warriors, so proud and bold,
Found their green dreams had turned to mold.
For all their talk of saving Earth,
They’d birthed a project of little worth.
Oh, the irony of it all,
A “green” ferry that couldn’t crawl.
With diesel backups standing by,
The carbon savings were a lie.
So here’s a lesson, plain to see,
In how not to spend money free.
Before you build your dreams so grand,
Make sure they’ll work on sea and land.
The people’s wealth, so freely spent,
On follies that won’t make a dent.
In saving planet or saving coin,
Perhaps it’s time to rejoin
The world of sense and sound finance,
Where projects get a second glance.
For Missunde III now stands as sign,
Of good intentions gone awry.
So heed this tale of caution clear:
Don’t pay a green until you’re near!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCGSBmjwEVM
OT
Nippon mega-sponsors retreat after insane Paris event. Enough is enough.
https://apnews.com/article/ioc-sponsors-toyota-bridgestone-panasonic-olympics-3d47737847d3d211165697e57233146b
They rightly lament “an increasing politicization of the Olympic movement”. Why are they doing this? Because they are allowed and can afford it. Productivity comparison: 1 Toyota employee produces approx. 27 cars per year. A VW employee only 13.
This is not possible in the EUSSR, where even for large companies it is essential to agree to and actively participate in the respective policy if the company in question wants to continue to receive loans, permits, contracts and the like.
To this end, ESG “guidelines” were invented and made mandatory, which also include the obligation to participate in CSR or CSRD (Corporate Social Responsibility Directive). Lots of abbreviations, lots of convolutions, maximum lack of transparency.
https://sharetext.me/ipjqbdf28l
PS …speaking of the “green” plague https://sharetext.me/ft7lnqqbsa
https://apnews.com/article/uk-last-coal-power-station-closing-9e6b792f27513e3b02904da1eaedfbf3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZPgSiOhC4E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTWDzMjgsEY
…”Green miracles” (chapter 8472829).
Today: “the floating solar power plant”
https://media.gettr.com/group7/getter/2024/10/01/14/1a47bb24-d404-16d3-d98c-ab9a0fd7c2b7/out.mp4