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- Hacker News
- Anyone can access the letter PDF? I've been trying this link and it only timeout https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/oai_abbot-texas-letter_8-7-26.pdfby braiamp
- pittsburgh has many old power plants that are perfect for data center converts
when i go home and hear about this i'm conflicted. it brings short term economic prosperity. what's the cost if there's no commitment to clean energy in reality
the developers on these projects will do whatever it takes to simply get the project done
by anr0 - Data centers belong in "industrial areas", ignore the snarky jokes about them being as bad as the coal plants they are replacing.
People have legitimate complaints when they are built within audible distance of housing.
by axus - As someone who lived in TX through the winter storm power crisis in 2021, I approve of the pause.by zabriel_goss
- > OpenAI supports transparency and accountability
Just like it supported 'Open AI'?
by throwaw12 - OpenAI:
Commit to 117% of your datacenter power demand to be supplied by nuclear, wind, and solar, so it arrives the same day (or sooner) than your demand starts.
This isn't that hard.
by exabrial - Because all these things require a grid, unlike on-site generators. Most grid equipment (specially high voltage transformers) are backordered and all companies have empty inventories. Unlike traditional companies these AI companies are deathly afraid of not getting to AGI first, so they can't wait.by nromiun
- it is not only "that hard", it is impossible
1/ deploying solar takes years to go through multiple layers of environmental review at municipal, state and federal levels
2/ the generator interconnection queue takes 5+ years just to permit new grid connections
3/ building new HVDC has been blocked by permits and right of way laws, which is another barrier to effective solar deployment
4/ there are only two commercial nuclear reactors built in America since 1978, and they each took 10+ years to build
- Why can’t these idiots just mandate that you have to build out clean energy to power the data centers. It’s such a simple bit of legislation that they just will not do.by dyauspitr
- To answer your question: Texas. Running on a platform of clean energy is political suicide in half of America, particularly in the south.by kdheiwns
- Honestly, that sounds kind of arbitrary. Why should companies that use electricity be required to also produce electricity? This is what the market is for, so other Companies can produce electricity for money and other Companies buy that electricity.
And to which companies would this apply? Only Datacenters? There are other energy intensive industries too, should this also apply to them? And what is the cutoff for that? Does every bigger 21st century company also need to be an electricity company?
It would be less arbitrary if all negative externalities would be taxed (for example, carbon tax or noise pollution tax) and maybe prioritize households on the public grid.
by preisschild - This seems like a good idea to me. I wonder what the hold up is.by vendiddy
- It's more time consuming, expensive, politically fraught, logistically difficult, and hard to acquire land + permits for, than new gas generators and maintaining coal plants. Renewables are a worse idea in the short term, and all they want is short term solutions. They're on a half-trillion-dollar clock.by 0xbadcafebee
- Because up until recently all the big hyperscalars were already committed to buying or building renewables to meet their energy demand. Then AI happened and they all collectively realized they needed to build as many datacenters as possible to fit as many GPUs as possible to chase the bubble. All those clean energy commitments got tossed by the wayside. Hell, half the time these companies fire people just to free up cashflow to buy more GPUs!by kmeisthax
- Oil companies squash all kinds of clean energy regulation.by refneb
- While I would like this, my guess is it is hard to reconcile with all the other commercial ventures in the state (including datacenters) that aren't subject to such a requirement.by kodablah
- https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/texas-data-center-pr...
"Abbott is asking the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to ensure data center developers provide information on tax breaks they will receive; power use and generation; water use and cooling operations; efforts to reduce impacts on local communities; and ownership of the facility. Any projects that fail Abbott’s ordered “comprehensive verification and audit” should be denied connection to the grid, the governor said."
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-directs-comp...
"“Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” said Governor Abbott. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the PUCT and ERCOT, and by state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid. Simply put, Texans must come first.”"
https://environmentamerica.org/texas/center/media-center/new...
"The Lone Star State generated the equivalent of 37% of its electricity from solar, wind and geothermal power in 2025"
by newsoftheday - How much does OpenAI actually control the way the data centers are built and deployed?
I don’t know much about the impact of their data centers compared to others, but there weren’t many (if any) concrete commitments in this letter. The promises all seem like areas that even an evil corporation could pay lip service to.
by surfmike - With the amount of cash OpenAI is splashing around they could easily write it into the contracts, but the current incentive structure prioritizes time between ground breaking and powered GPUs in racks. OpenAI has shown complete disinterest in the impact of AI writ large and will only reduce their community/infra impact to optimize that time to racked GPU along the Pareto frontier.by coldbrewed
- OpenAI et al can establish a Data Center PAC or contribute to one then lobby our political leaders like citizens (see Citzens United)
- > How much does OpenAI actually control the way the data centers are built and deployed?
Assuming OAI is the sole tenant in these facilities, I'd say we are approaching 100% control.
by bob1029 - Major tenants like OAI have near total control. These GW-class datacenters are built to spec for the tenant. Construction doesn't start until all the details are signed off.by mNovak
- If Virginia or Louisiana should profit by this then so be it. Californian land-use laws will have a net effect of -8 house seats against Texas. That is good. It should happen. If Texans will be poorer so Virginians will be richer, that is also good. May the American federal system reign forever. Allowing for states as experiments and letting them suffer their consequences is good. It is a machine for us to iterate on our present and future prosperity.by arjie
- > It is a machine for us to iterate on our present and future prosperity.
The former middle class has entered the chat.
by ElProlactin - This is delicious comedy.by undersuit
- How is Louisiana going to profit by it besides selling hot plates to the construction workers?by selimthegrim
- Virginia has more power infrastructure in place but said infrastructure is already seeing significant DC build out; I know little about power distribution in Louisiana but would be surprised if there was extensive spare capacity in the transmission lines and generation facilities. I'm surprised that the rust belt hasn't seen more uptake since they had all that manufacturing capacity but the backing power generation/distribution may have atrophied in the intervening years.by coldbrewed
- This letter says nothing about Louisiana or Virginia, what exactly are you talking about?by ghostly_s
- I don't think these data centres bring that much money locally.
Beyond the construction they employ very little people and bring very little taxes at a gargantuan cost in resources.
by epolanski - When experiments fail the constituents pay the price, not the experimenters.by jnovek