OpenAI executive vows to keep building data centers after midterm election rebuke
CFO Sarah Friar said OpenAI will keep raising capital to meet customer demand after voters backed curbs on data centers in local ballot measures
OpenAI has reframed the data center debate by introducing the term "compute campuses" to lessen public fear. The company is also addressing concerns about data center power demands during grid strain by proposing a program called Grid Protectors. This initiative aims to cut electricity usage in data centers when demand is high, allowing nearby communities to maintain operations like air conditioning or heating.
As data centers consume more power and AI servers contribute to this rise, the issue of strained grids and protests against data center development is growing. OpenAI's Grid Protectors Program seeks to tackle these challenges by considering future capacity needs and promoting power flexibility in data center design, with regional variations.
The company has not yet finalized all aspects of the scheme but hopes it will alleviate some protests. Google, however, is taking a different approach by offering incentives for people to turn off their appliances during peak consumption times for data center usage.
Written by urgent.news from Computerworld's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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