What is a data center and what is the price of AI? In Depth with Dan

MORE ABOUT THIS INVESTIGATION.

>> NOT A LOT OF LOVE FOR DATA

CENTERS IN THE NEWS RECENTLY.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE HATE IS

REAL. WHEN PEOPLE START PACKING

THOSE LOCAL PLANNING COMMISSION

HEARINGS, THOSE AREN'T FUN.

A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES. YOU KNOW,

THE FROM PLANNING A

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR DATA

CENTER PROJECT IN APEX. THEY

JUST PULLED THE PLUG BECAUSE

THE COMMUNITY WASN'T FEELING

IT. THEY GOT SOME PUSHBACK

PLANS IN EDGECOMBE COUNTY.

THEY FACE SIMILAR STRAIN.

CHATHAM COUNTY ACTUALLY PUT

A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS IN

PERSON COUNTY, THOUGH MICROSOFT

MIGHT GET THEIR WAY THE TECH

COMPANY, BUT 1300 ACRES IN

2024. AND THIS MONTH THEY OPEN

PERMITS. THAT CLEARS THE WAY

FOR CONSTRUCTION. BUT WHAT EVEN

DATA CENTRE? WELL, IT'S THE

CLOUD ARE PART OF THE CLOUD.

IT'S LIKE A SINGLE RAINDROP IN

THE CLOUD OF COMPUTER CHIP IN

THE MAINFRAME. A NEW IRAN IN

THE GIANT BRAIN THAT'S RUNNING

THE INTERNET, RUNNING SERVICES

FOR AMAZON, GOOGLE, META.

MICROSOFT AND THE LIKE IT IS

THE THING THAT POPULATE YOUR

VIDEOS ON YOUR TIKTOK FOR YOU

PAGE SUGGESTS WHAT YOU SHOULD

BUY ON AMAZON OR WHAT YOU

SHOULD WATCH ON NETFLIX.

IT INTRODUCES YOU TO PEOPLE YOU

MAY KNOW ON FACEBOOK. IT COMES

UP WITH THE ETA ON GOOGLE MAPS.

IT SETS A PRICE FOR YOUR UBER

RIDE. IT STORES YOUR FAMILY

PHOTOS WHEN YOU ASK CHATGPT IF

YOU SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT

THE ANSWER COMES FROM A DATA

CENTER. AND IF YOU'VE EVER

WONDERED WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

TO COMBINE DAN HAGGERTY AND

GERALD OWENS INTO A SUPER

ANCHOR. WELL, HERE YOU GO.

AND GOOGLE GEMINI NEEDED A DATA

CENTER FOR THIS AND ALL THIS

STUFF HAPPENS. BILLIONS OF

TIMES A DAY AND THAT TAKES A

LOT OF HARDWARE AND A LOT OF

POWER AND THAT COSTS MONEY.

SO TONIGHT, LET'S GO IN DEPTH

BECAUSE WHETHER OR NOT A DATA

CENTER LANDS IN YOUR BACKYARD,

WE WILL ALL PAY THE PRICE OF

AI.

SO THIS IS A DATA CENTER RIGHT

HERE. A MASSIVE WINDOWLESS

BUILDING PACKED WITH SERVERS.

THEY RUN. 24 HOURS A DAY, 365

DAYS. A YEAR IN THEY CAN USE

INSANE AMOUNTS OF ELECTRICITY.

THE BIG ONES LIKE THE ONE

MICROSOFT WANTS TO BUILD IN

PERSON COUNTY CAN USE AS MUCH

ELECTRICITY AS 500,000 HOMES OR

TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY ABOUT AS

MUCH JUICE AS THE ENTIRE CITY

OF RALEIGH. EVERY HOME BUSINESS

SCHOOL, HOSPITAL STREET, LIGHT

AND CROSSWALK. ALL COMING FROM

ONE BUILDING. AND THEY'RE

CREATING HEADLINES LIKE THIS AI

DATA CENTERS ARE SENDING POWER

BILLS SOARING. A VIEWER NAMED

SANFORD WANTS TO KNOW WHY HE

SAID, PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY A NEW

DATA CENTERS, POWER CONSUMPTION

WOULD MAKE MY RATES GO UP.

SO SANFORD, THIS IS A GREAT

PLACE TO START THE CONVERSATION

AND WE SHOULD BEGIN IT WITH

THIS ONLY PART OF YOUR POWER

BILL IS TIED TO WHAT YOU

ACTUALLY USE. I MEAN, LET'S

LOOK AT MY MOST RECENT THOSE AN

EXAMPLE ABOUT 70% OF MY BILL

COMES FROM THE AMOUNT OF

ELECTRICITY. I USE 646 KILOWATT

HOURS AT ABOUT $0.12. COMES

OUT TO ROUGHLY 81 BUCKS.

BUT HERE'S THE PART WHERE A LOT

OF PEOPLE GET CONFUSED. YES,

YOU CAN SAVE MONEY BY USING

LESS POWER. FEWER OF THOSE

KILOWATT HOURS. BUT THE REAL

NUMBER TO WATCH IS THAT $0.12

NUMBER BECAUSE BUNDLED INSIDE,

THAT IS THE PRICE OF THE ENTIRE

SYSTEM. THE POWER PLANTS, THE

POLLS, THE LINES SUBSTATIONS

PAST CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS,

FUTURE PROJECTS RETURNS FOR

INVESTORS AND MORE. IT IS ALL

BUNDLED INTO THAT ONE RATE.

EVERY CUSTOMER ON THE GRANT.

YOU ME THE PLACE TO WORK YOUR

LOCAL GROCERY STORE. EVERYONE

SHARES THE COST OF THAT

INFRASTRUCTURE. SO WHEN A NEW

DATA CENTER NEEDS AS MUCH

ELECTRICITY AS AN ENTIRE CITY,

WE ARE GOING TO NEED MORE

INFRASTRUCTURE. THE QUESTION IS

HOW MUCH MORE ENTER THE NORTH

CAROLINA ENERGY POLICY TASK

FORCE IS A GROUP OF ABOUT 30

PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT SECTORS.

LAWMAKERS, UTILITIES, TECH REPS

FROM AMAZON, GOOGLE AND TOYOTA.

SOME ACADEMIC FOLKS IN

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS. THEY

RELEASED A REPORT LAST MONTH

AND ON PAGE 30, IT SAYS THERE

IS NOT RELIABLE PUBLIC DATA

FOR THE TOTAL NUMBER AND SIZE

OF EXISTING AND PROPOSED

DATACENTERS THAT THAT IS

REMARKABLE. I MEAN, HOW DO YOU

PLAN FOR SOMETHING WITHOUT

KNOWING WHAT TO PLAN FOR ON

PAGE 9? IT LAYS OUT DUKE'S

FORECAST FOR ENERGY LOAD IN THE

NEXT 15 YEARS. THEY PROJECT

GROWTH BETWEEN 16 AND 60%.

FIRST OF ALL, THAT IS A HUGE

RANGE. I MEAN, ON THE LOW END,

WE WILL MORE THAN DOUBLE THE

GROWTH THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE

LAST 20 YEARS ON THE HIGH END,

WE BLOW IT OUT OF THE WATER

9 TIMES AS MUCH GROWTH IN A

FRACTION OF THE TIME. WE HAVE

TO THINK CAN WE ATTRIBUTE ALL

OF THAT GROWTH TO DATA CENTERS?

WELL, LET'S LOOK AT PAGE 10

WORD SAYS DATA CENTERS ACCOUNT

FOR 80% OF THE PROJECTED ENERGY

DEMAND INDICATING THE DATA

CENTERS HAVE UNIQUELY HIGH

ENERGY NEEDS COMPARED TO

TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIES. 80

PERCENT. THIS COULD BE THE

SINGLE BIGGEST NEED FROM A

SINGLE INDUSTRY IN THE HISTORY

OF THE WORLD. AND IT'S WHY

PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID THIS

DURING A STATE OF THE UNION.

MANY AMERICANS ARE ALSO

CONCERNED THAT.

>> ENERGY DEMAND FROM AI DATA

CENTERS COULD UNFAIRLY DRIVE UP

THEIR ELECTRIC UTILITY BILLS.

TONIGHT, I'M PLEASED TO

ANNOUNCE THAT I HAVE NEGOTIATED

THE NEW RATE PAYER PROTECTION

PLEDGE. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS?

WE'RE TELLING THE MAJOR TECH

COMPANIES THAT THEY HAVE THE

OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR

OWN POWER NAME.

>> AND THE TECH COMPANIES ARE

LISTENING. MICROSOFT SAID ABOUT

ITS PERSON COUNTY PLANS TO

QUOTE, MICROSOFT WILL PAY ITS

OWN WAY TO ENSURE ITS

DEVELOPMENT DOES NOT INCREASE

ELECTRICITY PRICES, WHICH

SOUNDS GREAT. BUT WHAT DOES

THAT MEAN EXACTLY TO PAY ITS

OWN WAY WILL TYPICALLY THAT

MEANS IT WILL PAY FOR THE POWER

IT USES AND FOR THE WIRES IN

SUBSTATION CONNECTED TO ITS

FACILITY, NOT THE WHOLE GRID.

THINK OF IT THIS WAY. IF YOU

COULD BUILD A HOUSE, YOU PAY

FOR THE DRIVEWAY, BUT OF

TRAFFIC FROM THAT HOUSE MEANS

WE NEED WIDER HIGHWAYS WILL WHO

PAYS FOR THAT? WE ALL DO.

NOW. DUKE ENERGY TELLS US,

LOOK, DON'T WORRY. THIS COULD

ACTUALLY BE A GOOD THING.

YOU COULD SAVE YOU MONEY IN

THE LONG RUN. BUT HOW EXACTLY

WOULD THAT WORK? WHAT DATA

CENTER WILL BE PAYING FOR HUGE

AMOUNTS OF ELECTRICITY. AND

THAT DOES SPREAD COSTS OUT FOR

THINGS LIKE UPGRADES. I MEAN,

IMAGINE IT LIKE A GYM

MEMBERSHIP AT THE GYM SUDDENLY

ADDS THOUSANDS OF NEW MEMBERS

AND THEY'LL PAY FULL PRICE.

THE GEM CAN BUY NEW EQUIPMENT

WITHOUT RAISING EVERYONE'S DO

IS. I MEAN, THAT'S THE THEORY

ANYWAY. BUT HERE'S THE RISK.

WHAT IF SOME OF THOSE NEW

MEMBERS CANCEL THEIR

MEMBERSHIP? WHAT IF WE UPGRADE

THE GRID? WE SPEND BILLIONS OF

DOLLARS AND THEN DEMAND FOR

DATA CENTERS STARTS TO DROP

OFF. AND THIS COULD HAPPEN

BECAUSE TECH COMPANIES, THEY

DON'T WANT TO PAY THOSE HUGE

ELECTRICITY BILLS EITHER.

THEY'RE WORKING ON THINGS LIKE

BETTER CHIPS, BETTER COOLING

SYSTEMS, SMARTER SOFTWARE.

IF THAT HAPPENS, WE COULD END

UP PAYING FOR GRID THAT WAS

BUILT BIGGER THAN WHAT WE

NEEDED NOW. DUKE HAS SOME

SAFEGUARDS SIGNING LONG-TERM

CONTRACTS TAKING DEPOSITS,

SETTING MINIMUM POWER

AGREEMENT. SO IF THESE

COMPANIES TO SCALE BACK THERE

WILL BE CONSEQUENCES. NOW NONE

OF THIS MEANS THAT YOUR BILL IS

GOING TO SUDDENLY SKYROCKET.

BUT WHAT IT DOES MEAN IS THAT

WE ARE IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY

IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE BECAUSE

THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT BUILDING

DATA CENTERS. IT'S ABOUT WHAT

THOSE DATA CENTERS, OUR

BUILDING FOR MOST PEOPLE WHEN

THEY THINK OF THIS SORT OF

THING THEY THINK ABOUT TALKING

TO ALEXA ARE GETTING RECIPES

FROM GOOGLE HOMEWORK, HELP FROM

CHATGPT FUNNY VIDEOS ON TIKTOK

ARE INSTANTLY CREATING AN IMAGE

BORN FROM YOUR WILDEST

IMAGINATION. BUT THAT IS NOT

WHAT IS DRIVING THIS BOOM.

AI IS THE FOUNDATION OF

ADVANCEMENTS IN EVERYTHING

CORPORATE EFFICIENCY DEFENSE

FINANCE HEALTHCARE MEDIA, THESE

DATA CENTERS ARE THE

INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE NEXT

GREAT INDUSTRIAL SHIFT. SOME

ECONOMISTS ESTIMATE THAT AI

WILL RESHAPE OR ELIMINATE 10'S

OF MILLIONS OF JOBS WORLDWIDE

LAWYERS, ACCOUNTANTS, CODERS

WRITERS, JOURNALISTS, THE

PEOPLE WHO ONCE FELT INSULATED

FROM AUTOMATION. I MEAN, LAST

WEEK WE RAN A STORY ABOUT

AMAZON HIRING MORE DELIVERY

DRIVERS HERE IN OUR AREA.

AND IN THAT SAME NEWSCAST,

ANOTHER STORY ABOUT WAYMO

BRINGING SELF-DRIVING CARS TO

CHARLOTTE. THINK ABOUT THAT.

WE'RE HIRING MORE DRIVERS TODAY

WHILE ALSO BUILDING THE

TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD ONE DAY

MAKE THEM OBSOLETE. THAT'S WHY

THIS STORY IS SO IMPORTANT

BECAUSE IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT

HOW MUCH YOU PAY, BUT WHAT

YOU'RE PAYING FOR. LET ME KNOW

WHAT YOU THINK. TELL ME YOUR

THOUGHTS. E-MAIL. 07:00PM AT

WRAL DOT COM. THERE IS MORE TO

THIS STORY. OF COURSE, DATA

CENTERS DON'T JUST NEED POWER.

THEY NEED WATER TO WATCH OF IT.

SO TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND