Oracle has been delivering gas by truck to keep its data center near Salt Lake City running, while it waits for a gas pipeline to get built, Bloomberg reported. It’s using the same strategy for a new OpenAI campus in Texas—and now it might also truck in gas to Project Jupiter in New Mexico, where a gas pipeline is delayed.
What it means: Data centers need power faster than infrastructure or permitting processes typically move. Developers are getting creative, but not without consequences: Delivering gas by truck is around four times more expensive than getting it via pipeline.
Another server strategy: To get data centers built faster, Anthropic and OpenAI are seeking out smaller deals. The two companies have discovered it’s easier to get 20-30 MW projects permitted, rather than multi-gigawatt ones. And if they build enough smaller data centers, those can add up to the same capacity (while attracting less local scrutiny). 👀
Mon, Oct 12
Carrie Klein
Energy Central Team
NEWS: A new strategy to keep data centers running? Truck in gas.
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