She's completely right. Wind farms are totally uneconomic, and it's much more difficult to export electricity than data.
While data centres are overbuilt right now, they aren't going away. With oil and gas exports impeded by excessive regulation, something that can benefit from cheap energy and be exported with optical fibre is just the thing.
If Newfoundland had had data centres, the Churchill Falls electricity discussion would look very different.
Danielle Smith is living in 1950. Oil and gas are not the future. Fresh water is going to be a crisis sooner than later. Renewable energy is the future. She's worried about the view, but wants coal mines on the eastern slopes. Pick a lane. Who would invest in a new pipeline when independence might scuttle its construction? Who would drop a cent into Alberta right now, when a collection of backwards-thinking fools are whining that being the richest province in the country isn't enough, and think they should go it alone? And then they think the bible-thumpers in the US will treat them better? Naive is an understatement. And that's after 40 years of court cases to see who gets what in the breakup. Blackmail is rarely a good idea. Alberta is going backwards at full speed.
Energy is prosperity, it’s not going anywhere. If you don’t want Canadian energy, where companies have made amazing changes to reduce and even eliminate their impact on the environment, that energy will have to come from somewhere else. You may not like where that is. Alberta takes its responsibilities seriously no matter what you’ve heard wherever you are. You also can’t run an economy on renewables, that isn’t possible at this time if ever.
As to the data centres, that genie isn’t going back into the bottle. The pearl clutching needs to stop. What we need is less opinion and more information so we can take informed decisions.
Fossil fuel burning is also the death of humanity. And there are ways to have energy that don't destroy the planet. China is leading on that. The rest of the world is daily proving that you can run an economy on renewables. Solar in the Sahara could power Europe. We could be leading, but backwards thinking, like Danielle's, looks at today and ignores tomorrow. There is no future for Danielle's grandchildren.
IMHO, data centres are like social media. We did a hell of a lot better without them. AI could be fabulous, but humanity will fuck it up...as it's already doing. I have yet to hear a single case as to why data centres are critical to anything. That they are destroying communities and the environment while feeding wealth to oligarchs is beyond doubt.
What are you talking about, Data centres are the future and Alberta has abundant Natural Gas to fuel them. This is a win win, using a product internally, that the rest of Canada wants us to abandon to energize the future which is AI data centres.
Future of what? We need RI far more than AI. How are you going to cool them? Hell, you could power them with solar farms with a little forethought, but that won't be happening, it appears.
Are you insane, do you have ANY idea how much energy is required for AI to work, Solar will never be able to meet that demand, it would be equivalent to using Dial up internet! Since you appear to be a climate catastrophist and clearly dont understand the physics of energy I dont feel the need to further engage.
The politics aside, I doubt the Alberta Data centre, and a good many others, will ever be completed. This is a repeat of the dot-com boom or the rail bust of the 1920s. Massive overbuilding of infrastructure that cannot be sustained by the demand and revenue it requires. (It is only this year that some companies' stock prices returned to what they were 26 years ago.
This time, I suspect it will be much worse than previous events, more money, more companies
I see this all the time. Why does everything have to become a tool for Whataboutery? Why can't you just take the win - especially when wins are rare - and feel good about it? This is literally like a kid getting an A in math being scolded for not getting an A in everything else. Why can't people just celebrate the damn win? What's wrong if Alberta becomes a powerhouse in Data centers infrastructure? Just please stop with the Whataboutery especially when you have a concrete win to point to.
I’m more optimistic. You’re dealing with free enterprisers who have their shareholders’ money at stake rather than pusillanimous pearl clutching civil servants and politicians worried about suburban Karens’ reaction to any impact on property values.
Renewable energy sources do not pay government any royalties even though currently oil royalties are paid in bitumin not dollars. Nice for the oil companies and a pathetic payback for the province getting its own natural resources back as payment. Somehow support for oil has been propogandized into loyalty to Alberta and breaking that ideological roadblock isn't easy
And, thank goodness for that! Wind farms are a drain on our economics, Data centres will be a boost to us economically. I would hazard a guess that long term the data centres are better for the environment than the wind farms as well. All, Data centers are the future whether we like it or not, and canada is very well positioned to capitalize on the financial opportunities they represent just based on our northern geographic location.
I don’t know tons about data centres but I do know a lot of people have a lot of opinions, informed or not, about them.
Alberta is well situated to accommodate many of them, we certainly have the energy to power them, we have the land mass on which to build them, all we need is information and actual knowledge about them to allay the fears.
She's completely right. Wind farms are totally uneconomic, and it's much more difficult to export electricity than data.
While data centres are overbuilt right now, they aren't going away. With oil and gas exports impeded by excessive regulation, something that can benefit from cheap energy and be exported with optical fibre is just the thing.
If Newfoundland had had data centres, the Churchill Falls electricity discussion would look very different.
Make no mistake the Billions of dollars for these data centres do not end up in Alberta or Canada.
While we may benefit short term from construction there is no residual buy of technology.
There is the inherent risk of closure, and quickly, leaving taxpayers on the hook for a site 75% the size of Airdrie.
Smith can’t or won’t get the current energy industry to clean up after itself why would we expect this to be any different.
Failure and radicalization are the two dominant forces in Smith’s life.
Them smelly gas things won't ever better me horse.
Danielle Smith is living in 1950. Oil and gas are not the future. Fresh water is going to be a crisis sooner than later. Renewable energy is the future. She's worried about the view, but wants coal mines on the eastern slopes. Pick a lane. Who would invest in a new pipeline when independence might scuttle its construction? Who would drop a cent into Alberta right now, when a collection of backwards-thinking fools are whining that being the richest province in the country isn't enough, and think they should go it alone? And then they think the bible-thumpers in the US will treat them better? Naive is an understatement. And that's after 40 years of court cases to see who gets what in the breakup. Blackmail is rarely a good idea. Alberta is going backwards at full speed.
I’m thinking you have no idea what you’re talking about but you’re certainly entitled to your opinion.
That's fine. Could you please explain why?
Energy is prosperity, it’s not going anywhere. If you don’t want Canadian energy, where companies have made amazing changes to reduce and even eliminate their impact on the environment, that energy will have to come from somewhere else. You may not like where that is. Alberta takes its responsibilities seriously no matter what you’ve heard wherever you are. You also can’t run an economy on renewables, that isn’t possible at this time if ever.
As to the data centres, that genie isn’t going back into the bottle. The pearl clutching needs to stop. What we need is less opinion and more information so we can take informed decisions.
Fossil fuel burning is also the death of humanity. And there are ways to have energy that don't destroy the planet. China is leading on that. The rest of the world is daily proving that you can run an economy on renewables. Solar in the Sahara could power Europe. We could be leading, but backwards thinking, like Danielle's, looks at today and ignores tomorrow. There is no future for Danielle's grandchildren.
IMHO, data centres are like social media. We did a hell of a lot better without them. AI could be fabulous, but humanity will fuck it up...as it's already doing. I have yet to hear a single case as to why data centres are critical to anything. That they are destroying communities and the environment while feeding wealth to oligarchs is beyond doubt.
Back to my original statement. I think you’re misguided but it’s your opinion and I respect it.
What are you talking about, Data centres are the future and Alberta has abundant Natural Gas to fuel them. This is a win win, using a product internally, that the rest of Canada wants us to abandon to energize the future which is AI data centres.
Future of what? We need RI far more than AI. How are you going to cool them? Hell, you could power them with solar farms with a little forethought, but that won't be happening, it appears.
Are you insane, do you have ANY idea how much energy is required for AI to work, Solar will never be able to meet that demand, it would be equivalent to using Dial up internet! Since you appear to be a climate catastrophist and clearly dont understand the physics of energy I dont feel the need to further engage.
Petend climate change isn't a crisis for as long as you can.
https://seia.org/blog/ai-leaders-are-pumping-billions-into-solar-storage/
If you're looking for "toe-in-the-water" hesitancy, tune in "Ottawa" on your dial. If you want progress, watch Danielle Smith.
The politics aside, I doubt the Alberta Data centre, and a good many others, will ever be completed. This is a repeat of the dot-com boom or the rail bust of the 1920s. Massive overbuilding of infrastructure that cannot be sustained by the demand and revenue it requires. (It is only this year that some companies' stock prices returned to what they were 26 years ago.
This time, I suspect it will be much worse than previous events, more money, more companies
I see this all the time. Why does everything have to become a tool for Whataboutery? Why can't you just take the win - especially when wins are rare - and feel good about it? This is literally like a kid getting an A in math being scolded for not getting an A in everything else. Why can't people just celebrate the damn win? What's wrong if Alberta becomes a powerhouse in Data centers infrastructure? Just please stop with the Whataboutery especially when you have a concrete win to point to.
I’m more optimistic. You’re dealing with free enterprisers who have their shareholders’ money at stake rather than pusillanimous pearl clutching civil servants and politicians worried about suburban Karens’ reaction to any impact on property values.
They are all expecting that various governments will bail them out if things go south because they will have become "too big to fail".
Renewable energy sources do not pay government any royalties even though currently oil royalties are paid in bitumin not dollars. Nice for the oil companies and a pathetic payback for the province getting its own natural resources back as payment. Somehow support for oil has been propogandized into loyalty to Alberta and breaking that ideological roadblock isn't easy
And, thank goodness for that! Wind farms are a drain on our economics, Data centres will be a boost to us economically. I would hazard a guess that long term the data centres are better for the environment than the wind farms as well. All, Data centers are the future whether we like it or not, and canada is very well positioned to capitalize on the financial opportunities they represent just based on our northern geographic location.
I don’t know tons about data centres but I do know a lot of people have a lot of opinions, informed or not, about them.
Alberta is well situated to accommodate many of them, we certainly have the energy to power them, we have the land mass on which to build them, all we need is information and actual knowledge about them to allay the fears.