|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Nearest AI data center in West Lebanon, across CT River
by Aaron Warner
The steady march of technology has brought with it many blessings from railroads to pocket calculators to pacemakers and solar powered home heating systems. However, the inevitability assumed by the adherents of the scientific revolution believe humanity needs to acquire artificial intelligence, as if actual intelligence requires supplementation.
Even the innovators of this technology, such as Elon Musk, were quick to warn of A.I.’s artificial sentience enabling it to wreak havoc on mankind in what they call “the singularity”, or the point at which A.I. surpasses humankind in creative power giving it Frankenstein-like ability to turn on its makers. Only turning on its makers includes the rest of us who never asked for this blessing.
Coupled with this dangerous game are the costs associated with building the infrastructure necessary to both house and run these massive A.I. compounds now littering the countryside. A.I. fortresses have been popping up in deserts and farmland around the country offering a great leap to those who believe the benefits outweigh the costs, especially if those costs can simply be passed on to the public. Venessa Wingardh reports “your electricity bill went up 30% last year” speaking to virtually everyone in the country, including Vermont. My wife and I were both shocked when our typical winter bill had more than doubled from the $300 range to over $800 for one month (we have a larger property with two businesses that use a fair amount of electricity).
AI data centers caused $9.3 billion in increased costs – you’re literally paying for Big Tech’s electricity bill.
Using a shell company named Laidely LLC the company META (previously Facebook) applied for a 401 water quality certification, calling it Project Sucre in Louisiana. The governor of Louisiana justified giving the project a $1 billion tax break saying it created 500 jobs which turns out to be closer to 50 jobs as much of the work is being done remotely thus not keeping the money within the state. The $20 million per job creation calculus was justified by the governor because “Jesus started with twelve guys and look how big His church is”. Even A.I. could detect the absurd level of irony in that statement.
A woman in Georgia living in a two bedroom townhouse saw her bill reach over $600. She was told the bill was based on usage, however she wasn’t told power companies were approved of a $29 billion dollar rate increase by the federal government which passes over 120% increases on to customers. One wonders if the governor uses Jesus’ words, “you will always have the poor among you,” as further ascent to this rising issue.
For all of its powers of serving the public with lightning fast information and realistic “deep fake” video generation, A.I. has been exposed for its inherent biases. Much of the programming and development has been in the hands of people with predisposed political persuasions, as well as drawing from a highly groomed collection of search engines, such as Google and Microsoft, similarly biased. As reporting on both the Epstein story and Israel’s conduct in Gaza have seen A.I. return outright deceptive responses only to offer researchers a perfunctory “my bad” when called out, the question of funding a tool capable of lying to its users causes one to wonder where this road ends.
As for the roads to travel to find the nearest data centers, so far there are none in Vermont. However, the state’s emphasis on carbon neutrality by 2030 adds cost to consumers. The nearest center is located across the Connecticut river in West Lebanon, NH which is co-owned by Google and Microsoft. Another can be found fifty miles further in Berlin NH, run by Microsoft (Azure), with yet another being constructed in Keene, NH slated for completion in 2025-26, whose tenants include Microsoft and Meta.
Using X’s (formerly Twitter) A.I. Grok I asked it to lay out the cost of operations and subsequent cost to consumers for us here in Vermont and New Hampshire. Of course, we can only hope the information it gave to justify its existence is accurate, however comparing its numbers to our and our neighbor’s bills indicates our optimism is unwarranted:
- Berlin, NH (Microsoft, 100 MW): Estimated annual cost ~$120-150 million. Electricity alone: ~$80-100 million (using NH industrial rate of ~$0.08/kWh; 100 MW = 876,000 MWh/year). Microsoft reports overall data center ops at $10-15B globally, but per-site for AI-focused ones like this is in this range.
- West Lebanon, NH (48 MW): ~$50-70 million annually, with ~$30-40 million in power costs.
- Overall, estimates suggest 15-25% of data center operating costs (focused on power-related) are passed on, equating to $10-30 million annually per major facility for regional customers. This is not “all” costs but the externalities like grid strain.
Current average power bills in VT/NH:
- Vermont:
- Average residential bill: ~$120/month (1,000 kWh at $0.20/kWh, one of the highest in U.S. due to renewables).
- New Hampshire:
- Average residential bill: ~$100/month (1,000 kWh at $0.15/kWh).
Further muddying the water is the amount of water required to cool these 24/7 operations. One family living within 400 yards of a Meta center is nearly tapped out from daily water availability, which begs the question, where are the climate change / Earth first activists on this?
The job creation for these centers at best requires minimal human participation by virtue of the projects stated purpose. Even the security guards are being replaced by A.I. run surveillance systems. As with many of the jobs elsewhere they are being offered to remote workers who don’t live in either Vermont or New Hampshire.
A.I. data centers are replacing the public’s need for libraries by converting the global repository into digital reading rooms that are already being edited and groomed for approved content in real time. In other words, we are witnessing the build-up of Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in our monthly power bills, replete with hydro-electric memory holes.
Whatever your stance on eschatology (re: end times) A.I. seems to have a belief we are closer to it than our next rate increase.
The author is a VDC columnist and Upper Valley regional reporter. He lives in Hartford, VT where he owns two award-winning small businesses. He is a graduate of Leadership Upper Valley class of 2010.
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Commentary
This is a very interesting concept and giving a lot of authority over everyone’s life in the hands of a few, who programs AI, in their own image? But locally one thing jumps out, why are these server farms being built across the river in NH? Better business tax climate and favorable real estate tax situation? Less radical State Government?
Adding to the problem:
https://youtu.be/h3Duffpz-HM?si=uj5550NttMs0Xrn9
First Aaron, monopolies are, ostensibly, illegal…. look at the Sherman Act of 1890, the Clayton Act of 1914, and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, for example. Unless, of course, we consider the regulatory capture so obvious today in our public education system.
Again, as long as free-market principles are maintained, when the cost of a good or service increases (because, for example, Blackrock buys all the houses and power plants), market competition from alternative goods and service providers increases. It’s called market equilibrium. Check it out in Grok or ChatGPT.
Everything is relative. For every action there are equal and opposite reactions. And the only system we’ve come up with to handle the complexity of a free market, is the free market.
“The great virtue of a free market system is that it does not care what color people are; it does not care what their religion is; it only cares whether they can produce something you want to buy. It is the most effective system we have discovered to enable people who hate one another to deal with one another and help one another.” ― Milton Friedman
Let’s go back to a time when AI meant American Ingenuity.
I use Grok and ChatGPT every day, for information, audio and video assistance. I’ve also written code (CAD CAM and business applications) off and on, since 1985. So, I ask that readers judge my comments here with accorded respect for my experience.
Asking Grok the same question, today, that Mr. Warner posed… cut and pasted in fact, resulted in a different response. And the reasons for these differences are at least two fold.
First, Grok, for example, responds to questions in the context of the complete conversation thread posed by the user at the time. In other words, it responds not just to a specific question, but to the ‘gist’ of the conversation.
And Grok makes mistakes. Why? Because it scans its data from what others have published on the web. Grok doesn’t make things up, other than to project trends…. a discussion for another time. Users should always ask follow-up questions. But Grok is also learning.
Here’s an example, using Mr. Warner’s specific question – again, cut and pasted.
“What are the AI data centers nearest Vermont and how much do they cost to operate annually? How much of that cost is past on to customers resulting in what percentage increase to power bills in Vermont and New Hampshire?”
“Vermont: No major data centers operational, so little to no costs passed on yet from this source. 2025 rate increases (e.g., 4.84% for Vermont Electric Coop) are due to general factors like electrification and infrastructure, with some attribution to emerging data center demand regionally. Percentage increase due to data centers: ~0% currently; potential future 0.2-0.5% regionally if large facilities like Westfield add load (hypothetical for 500MW: +$71M in costs, or 0.27% on ~$26B New England total bills). Step-by-step for hypothetical: Additional costs ($21M capacity + $50M energy) ÷ total regional bills (~$26B) × 100 = 0.27%.”
What does this indicate to me… for now at least? Well, first and foremost; Vermont shouldn’t build any data centers, given the current infrastructure-cost metric. Let NY, Canada, and New Hampshire do the build out…. and let them pay the increased power costs. Yes… sooner or later the market will react and figure out a way to the distribute the cost of data based on use…. another interesting discussion for another time. But so far, that’s not how it works.
My bottom line: Grok, ChatGPT, and other platforms are now providing users with more intellectual and knowledge-based power than most of us can imagine. And while this notion may be frightening to some (ignorance is bliss, after all), try to understand that, in a free market, we are all individually in control of our own destiny – and responsible for it. The worst thing to consider is a government-regulated AI market. Freedom and liberty come at the cost of accepting responsibility for what we do as individuals. If we divest ourselves from that responsibility, we lose our liberty and freedom.
“Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” ― Milton Friedman
Do you naturally write in condescension or did you have A.I. help you with that?
What did I write that’s condescending, Aaron? Are monopolies not illegal? Is government regulation more effective than personal choice? Is advocating for free market economics condescending? … to whom, communists? What in the world are you talking about?
You write with the pedantic tone and relative charm of an ascot.
As if my only understanding of monopoly policy is the board game. Or that my article needs to be supplemented by your personal use of AI and affinity for Milton Friedman, completely missing the point.
We are currently being gouged by government supplementing existing monopolies. The very institution tasked with preventing them is enabling them. Cutting taxes for nearly trillion dollar companies, robbing people of water, grooming truth from the public repository and charging us double for their trouble.
“But muh free market…”
Maybe you can exhume Milton to lead the charge, how does Grok like that idea Jay?
Sorry to have hurt your feelings with my ‘tone’ and ‘free market’ gibberish, Aaron. I’ll be more careful to fawn over your next missive. AI recommended I endeavor to ‘exhibit affection or attempt to please you, as a dog does by wagging its tail, … seeking favor or attention with flattery and other obsequious behaviors.’ I can do that. Anything for the cause.
You didn’t hurt my feelings sir/ma’am, you insulted my intelligence while also making the article about you. I understand narcissism is all the rage these days but I still hold out hope for the highly literate.
Of course you make up for it by choosing ironic condescension and feigned obsequiousness. Good on you for not burying your talents.
Maybe instead of writing articles in the comment section you can submit them directly to Guy, to avoid any further confusion of course.
Re: “Maybe instead of writing articles in the comment section you can submit them directly to Guy, to avoid any further confusion of course.”
Been there, done that…. for the cause of course. Anything for the cause…. as long as you approve, of course.
I heard this comment recently – the end user is the product. We are all utilitized as a product for AI – the more we consume and interact digitally, the more the AI consumes us, our productivity, our creativity, our resources – or lack thereof, as this thing is being programmed to take over many facets of daily human existance. One thing to consider is the notion this thing can defend itself and some engineers related instances that the thing rejected commands. Rather Orwellian – yet, that is what the goal appears to be – nightmares can come true – it can happen to you – amazon will deliver and we pay for it in more ways than realized. Good times!
I NEVER order from Amazon… F#CK Jeff Bezos
Aaron and Jay, I’m sorry to see you getting into a spat. I find both of your comments enlightening and appreciate your guiding insights. As someone who once was sought after in the 80’s by a computer club because I had read a book about AI in a college course, I find the topic something I can be wary of these days. Maybe it is because of warnings that there should be AI regulations. Maybe it is because machines already know way to much about us. Maybe it is because I really do wonder how many jobs and intellect AI will rob us of. So to both of you I say thank you and keep being a light – whether with the headlines or in the comments.
Blessed are the peacemakers……
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him, haughty eyes…
Proverbs 6:16&17
An enemy multiplies kisses, but wounds from a brother can be trusted.
Proverbs 27:6
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23