Michael Thomas
@michael-thomas.bsky.social
I write stories and make videos about climate change.
Subscribe to the Distilled newsletter and YouTube channel here: http://linktr.ee/distilled.earth
Subscribe to the Distilled newsletter and YouTube channel here: http://linktr.ee/distilled.earth
Thanks for sharing, David!
October 28, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Thanks for sharing, David!
You can subscribe below:
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Distilled | Michael Thomas | Substack
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October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
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In this world, I think we’d all be wise to form our opinions more slowly and be skeptical of what we read.
I'm planning to publish a full summary of the report and what it says about the real reasons for rising electricity prices in my newsletter tomorrow.
I'm planning to publish a full summary of the report and what it says about the real reasons for rising electricity prices in my newsletter tomorrow.
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
In this world, I think we’d all be wise to form our opinions more slowly and be skeptical of what we read.
I'm planning to publish a full summary of the report and what it says about the real reasons for rising electricity prices in my newsletter tomorrow.
I'm planning to publish a full summary of the report and what it says about the real reasons for rising electricity prices in my newsletter tomorrow.
Affordable and reliable electricity is the bedrock of modern civilization.
But in a world of hot takes, disinformation, and AI-generated deepfakes, it’s easy to overlook what makes electricity cheap and what makes it expensive.
But in a world of hot takes, disinformation, and AI-generated deepfakes, it’s easy to overlook what makes electricity cheap and what makes it expensive.
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Affordable and reliable electricity is the bedrock of modern civilization.
But in a world of hot takes, disinformation, and AI-generated deepfakes, it’s easy to overlook what makes electricity cheap and what makes it expensive.
But in a world of hot takes, disinformation, and AI-generated deepfakes, it’s easy to overlook what makes electricity cheap and what makes it expensive.
With the chart above, it’s easy to imagine a virtuous cycle where:
- More people buy EVs and heat pumps
- Electricity demand grows, and prices fall
- Cheaper operating costs encourage more adoption
- More people buy EVs and heat pumps
- Electricity demand grows, and prices fall
- Cheaper operating costs encourage more adoption
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
With the chart above, it’s easy to imagine a virtuous cycle where:
- More people buy EVs and heat pumps
- Electricity demand grows, and prices fall
- Cheaper operating costs encourage more adoption
- More people buy EVs and heat pumps
- Electricity demand grows, and prices fall
- Cheaper operating costs encourage more adoption
But the data shows that rising demand for electricity doesn't need to result in higher prices. And that's a really good thing from my perspective.
Mitigating climate change will require "electrifying everything." And that will result in a lot more electricity demand.
Mitigating climate change will require "electrifying everything." And that will result in a lot more electricity demand.
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
But the data shows that rising demand for electricity doesn't need to result in higher prices. And that's a really good thing from my perspective.
Mitigating climate change will require "electrifying everything." And that will result in a lot more electricity demand.
Mitigating climate change will require "electrifying everything." And that will result in a lot more electricity demand.
All of this is from a new report by LBNL.
The report makes clear that this relationship is not guaranteed to exist in the future or everywhere.
More recently data centers have led directly to rate increases (e.g. the recent PJM auction).
The report makes clear that this relationship is not guaranteed to exist in the future or everywhere.
More recently data centers have led directly to rate increases (e.g. the recent PJM auction).
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
All of this is from a new report by LBNL.
The report makes clear that this relationship is not guaranteed to exist in the future or everywhere.
More recently data centers have led directly to rate increases (e.g. the recent PJM auction).
The report makes clear that this relationship is not guaranteed to exist in the future or everywhere.
More recently data centers have led directly to rate increases (e.g. the recent PJM auction).
In Virginia—home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers—rising electricity consumption from data centers actually prevented prices from rising as much as they otherwise would have between 2019 and 2024, according to the report.
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
In Virginia—home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers—rising electricity consumption from data centers actually prevented prices from rising as much as they otherwise would have between 2019 and 2024, according to the report.
North Dakota is the only state in the US that didn’t see its electricity prices rise between 2019 and 2024.
Over that period, rates actually fell in inflation-adjusted terms.
Over that period, rates actually fell in inflation-adjusted terms.
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
North Dakota is the only state in the US that didn’t see its electricity prices rise between 2019 and 2024.
Over that period, rates actually fell in inflation-adjusted terms.
Over that period, rates actually fell in inflation-adjusted terms.
In North Dakota, crypto and AI companies have driven some of the fastest electricity demand growth in the country.
You might expect the state to have seen the fastest growth in utility bills. But intuition would fail you.
You might expect the state to have seen the fastest growth in utility bills. But intuition would fail you.
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
In North Dakota, crypto and AI companies have driven some of the fastest electricity demand growth in the country.
You might expect the state to have seen the fastest growth in utility bills. But intuition would fail you.
You might expect the state to have seen the fastest growth in utility bills. But intuition would fail you.
Glad to hear you think so! GIS is powerful. Everything in the story is just using basic Google Earth and historical images.
October 16, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Glad to hear you think so! GIS is powerful. Everything in the story is just using basic Google Earth and historical images.
This thread is getting long, so I'll leave it there for now.
I wrote more about all this in my latest newsletter. You can read the full story here:
www.distilled.earth/p/these-data...
I wrote more about all this in my latest newsletter. You can read the full story here:
www.distilled.earth/p/these-data...
These Data Centers Are Getting Really, Really Big
Gigawatt-sized data centers are becoming the new normal
www.distilled.earth
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
This thread is getting long, so I'll leave it there for now.
I wrote more about all this in my latest newsletter. You can read the full story here:
www.distilled.earth/p/these-data...
I wrote more about all this in my latest newsletter. You can read the full story here:
www.distilled.earth/p/these-data...
Meta is also working on a data center in Louisiana that would be twice the size of its Ohio data center.
The floorspace will be about half the size of lower Manhattan.
At peak power, Hyperion will consume about half as much electricity as the entire city of New York.
The floorspace will be about half the size of lower Manhattan.
At peak power, Hyperion will consume about half as much electricity as the entire city of New York.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Meta is also working on a data center in Louisiana that would be twice the size of its Ohio data center.
The floorspace will be about half the size of lower Manhattan.
At peak power, Hyperion will consume about half as much electricity as the entire city of New York.
The floorspace will be about half the size of lower Manhattan.
At peak power, Hyperion will consume about half as much electricity as the entire city of New York.
To build its first 1 GW data center, Meta is sticking thousands of $60k NVIDIA GPUs in tents in Ohio.
That might sound crazy, but it's cut the time to build in half. The first few buildings at its site in Ohio took 2-3 years to build.
The tents will take less than a year.
That might sound crazy, but it's cut the time to build in half. The first few buildings at its site in Ohio took 2-3 years to build.
The tents will take less than a year.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
To build its first 1 GW data center, Meta is sticking thousands of $60k NVIDIA GPUs in tents in Ohio.
That might sound crazy, but it's cut the time to build in half. The first few buildings at its site in Ohio took 2-3 years to build.
The tents will take less than a year.
That might sound crazy, but it's cut the time to build in half. The first few buildings at its site in Ohio took 2-3 years to build.
The tents will take less than a year.
The only hyperscaler that isn't working on a giga-scale data center in the US is Google.
Instead, they've built a distributed cluster of 4 data centers connected by fiber on the border of Nebraska and Iowa. By 2026, the cluster will have 1 GW of capacity.
Instead, they've built a distributed cluster of 4 data centers connected by fiber on the border of Nebraska and Iowa. By 2026, the cluster will have 1 GW of capacity.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
The only hyperscaler that isn't working on a giga-scale data center in the US is Google.
Instead, they've built a distributed cluster of 4 data centers connected by fiber on the border of Nebraska and Iowa. By 2026, the cluster will have 1 GW of capacity.
Instead, they've built a distributed cluster of 4 data centers connected by fiber on the border of Nebraska and Iowa. By 2026, the cluster will have 1 GW of capacity.
Microsoft recently announced the first phase of its Mt. Pleasent, WI data center. It will eventually use 1.5 GW, according to the grid operators documents.
xAI is working on Colossus 2, which will eventually use 1.5 GW of power.
xAI is working on Colossus 2, which will eventually use 1.5 GW of power.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Microsoft recently announced the first phase of its Mt. Pleasent, WI data center. It will eventually use 1.5 GW, according to the grid operators documents.
xAI is working on Colossus 2, which will eventually use 1.5 GW of power.
xAI is working on Colossus 2, which will eventually use 1.5 GW of power.
Stargate isn’t the only gigawatt-scale project progressing quickly in the US either.
Amazon recently finished the first phase of a data center in Indiana that will eventually use 2.2 GW of power.
The first phase (525 MW) took a bit more than a year to build.
Amazon recently finished the first phase of a data center in Indiana that will eventually use 2.2 GW of power.
The first phase (525 MW) took a bit more than a year to build.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Stargate isn’t the only gigawatt-scale project progressing quickly in the US either.
Amazon recently finished the first phase of a data center in Indiana that will eventually use 2.2 GW of power.
The first phase (525 MW) took a bit more than a year to build.
Amazon recently finished the first phase of a data center in Indiana that will eventually use 2.2 GW of power.
The first phase (525 MW) took a bit more than a year to build.
Another way to understand the scale of the project is to compare the 1.2 GW of peak demand the facility will use to that of one of the nearest utilities.
El Paso Electric, a utility that serves 465,000 customers west of the project, has a peak system load of 2.4 GW.
El Paso Electric, a utility that serves 465,000 customers west of the project, has a peak system load of 2.4 GW.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Another way to understand the scale of the project is to compare the 1.2 GW of peak demand the facility will use to that of one of the nearest utilities.
El Paso Electric, a utility that serves 465,000 customers west of the project, has a peak system load of 2.4 GW.
El Paso Electric, a utility that serves 465,000 customers west of the project, has a peak system load of 2.4 GW.
It’s hard to really put the scale of this project in perspective. One way to do it is to look at the project from space.
The satellite image below shows Stargate’s first two buildings. Each of those tiny little dots is a construction worker's car. There are 6,000 of them.
The satellite image below shows Stargate’s first two buildings. Each of those tiny little dots is a construction worker's car. There are 6,000 of them.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
It’s hard to really put the scale of this project in perspective. One way to do it is to look at the project from space.
The satellite image below shows Stargate’s first two buildings. Each of those tiny little dots is a construction worker's car. There are 6,000 of them.
The satellite image below shows Stargate’s first two buildings. Each of those tiny little dots is a construction worker's car. There are 6,000 of them.
OpenAI’s Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas is one such project.
Just over a year ago, the project was nothing more than some permits and a few hundred acres of dirt in West Texas. Today there are 100,000 of NVIDIA’s most advanced chips consuming 200 MW of power.
Just over a year ago, the project was nothing more than some permits and a few hundred acres of dirt in West Texas. Today there are 100,000 of NVIDIA’s most advanced chips consuming 200 MW of power.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
OpenAI’s Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas is one such project.
Just over a year ago, the project was nothing more than some permits and a few hundred acres of dirt in West Texas. Today there are 100,000 of NVIDIA’s most advanced chips consuming 200 MW of power.
Just over a year ago, the project was nothing more than some permits and a few hundred acres of dirt in West Texas. Today there are 100,000 of NVIDIA’s most advanced chips consuming 200 MW of power.
I’ve been skeptical of the AI power demand story at times.
But in the years since I first started writing about it, many AI infrastructure projects have gone from the realm of press releases to actual operating projects.
And they’ve done it at breakneck speed.
But in the years since I first started writing about it, many AI infrastructure projects have gone from the realm of press releases to actual operating projects.
And they’ve done it at breakneck speed.
October 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I’ve been skeptical of the AI power demand story at times.
But in the years since I first started writing about it, many AI infrastructure projects have gone from the realm of press releases to actual operating projects.
And they’ve done it at breakneck speed.
But in the years since I first started writing about it, many AI infrastructure projects have gone from the realm of press releases to actual operating projects.
And they’ve done it at breakneck speed.