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GM

What I learned about Electricity, AI and Bitcoin mining at scale.

AI data centres have huge electricity requirements, but this usage varies dramatically. Electricity companies prefer and will offer significantly better prices for a constant load.

Electricity companies like to be able to control on demand, large consumers of electricity so that they can reduce their demand by around 5% during high grid usage. This grid optimisation means that new power plants don’t need to be built to meet peak demand. This again dramatically reduces the price electricity producers charge to large consumers.

What can do this?

Fusing AI with bitcoin mining allows AI to reduce its primary and secondary power costs dramatically.

Lastly, liquid cooling is more efficient if you immerse the equipment and boil the liquid.

This is why Bitcoin mining companies like Marathon are building AI data centres, they understand better than anybody electricity management.
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Gowron 8mo ago

GM Mike -- nice summary there. I might add that in the future it is most likely that all power producers will be miners so they can decide which to dump their energy into: the grid or their asics, whichever is most profitable for them at the time. The grid will have enormous ability to call-up reserve power as needed 👀

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mike 8mo ago

Agreed, also electric cars add to this mix.

If connected, power companies can draw down some of the stored energy in the vehicles to balance the grid. Most home chargers in the future will be smart and incorporate this feature. Also allowing the car to power the home in the event of a power cut.