Microsoft Hits Pause Button on $1B Data Centers Near Columbus, OH
A number of data centers have been announced in Licking County, in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. They all will need enormous amounts of electricity to operate. MDN recently told you about three gas-fired power plants planned for New Albany, including one from PowerConneX and two from Williams subsidiary Will-Power (see Multiple Utica-Fired Power Plants Planned for New Albany, Ohio). Among those building data centers in Licking are Meta (i.e., Facebook), Cologix, and Amazon Web Services. Microsoft was supposed to invest $1 billion to build three data center campuses in Licking County, located in New Albany, Heath, and Hebron. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced it has indefinitely hit the pause button on all three projects. Read More “Microsoft Hits Pause Button on $1B Data Centers Near Columbus, OH”
Artificial Intelligence (AI) “took center stage in many sessions” at last week’s CERAWeek by S&P conference in Houston. But maybe not for the reasons you may think. Lately, MDN has brought you a flurry of stories about AI data centers and the monsters they are with respect to the amount of energy they consume. A day doesn’t go by that we don’t see stories of plans and announcements to generate more electricity (typically using gas-fired plants) to feed these beasts. While AI data centers and the need to supply them with gas-fired power were discussed last week at CERAWeek, the AI we’re talking about is how energy companies in all sectors (upstream, midstream, and downstream) are using AI to do their jobs faster, cheaper, and better.