We recently wrote about that Google plans to conserve water during its utilization for its AI requirements. But that’s not the only way Google will try to overcome the problem of AI and powering data centers.
Instead of waiting for the long and expensive construction of nuclear reactors or gas power plants to power their massive You gave the center dateGoogle is devising alternative solutions. The company signed a three-year contract with the platform Face to provide access to a decentralized electrical grid made up of ordinary American households.
Home appliances as a virtual powerhouse
Instead of centralized sources, Google will pay thousands of citizens for small portions of their electricity. The system works through advanced networking technology. Here’s how it works:
- Capacity aggregation. Voltus will annually collect up to 100 megawatt (MW) electricity throughout the PJM network (area from Illinois to New Jersey)
- Smart devices. Energy is drawn from home batteries and smart thermostats
- Automatic reaction. When the overall demand on the network spikes, the software sends a signal to the connected devices. Thus, some briefly release some electricity from the batteries back into the grid, while others reduce the operation of the air conditioning or heating for a few minutes and
- It’s imperceptible for users. The company states that no home owner will feel these short corrections that last only a few minutes.
Earnings for citizens, but and doubts about reliability
This deal turns Google’s hunger for energy into direct payments to participating households and small businesses. According to the organization’s estimates The Brattle Groupsuch virtual power plants could save American consumers over $100 billion over a decade.
Michael Terrell (Michael Terrell), head of the Google Energy Department, emphasized the importance of this project.
„We’re excited to add novo solution in the offer tools that can accelerate the development of a robust and flexible energy system. Also, and yes unlock capacity to support new data center growth“.
However, critics of the project warn of the instability of the system.
Since citizens’ participation is voluntary, anyone can turn off the home battery or change the thermostat settings at any time without notice. That’s why analysts believe that this is only a complementary source of energy and that Google will not completely abandon its nuclear plans. They justify this by the fact that one reactor offers about 1,000 MW of stable power. Approximately, it is 10 times more than this network of households, explains Tech Radar.
