TVA board votes to serve xAI, but not without questions
Multiple TVA board members asked questions about the impact xAI has had on surrounding neighborhoods in Westwood and Boxtown.
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Multiple TVA board members asked questions about the impact xAI has had on surrounding neighborhoods in Westwood and Boxtown.
“Everyone deserves to live in a safe home regardless of its age or their income. ... Lead service lines can be a source of exposure to the harmful impacts of lead.”Related content:
MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen says on “Behind The Headlines” the utility has the money to replace its lines and is working on funding to replace it on the customer’s side of the connection.
A person familiar with the company’s thinking has said xAI plans on being fully interruptible, meaning it will cut its electric load down to nothing if the TVA grid is stressed.
“TVA is trying to distract us from remembering its broken promise and now charging us higher rates to fund self-congratulatory ads aimed at making us grateful to be their customer.”
Mayor Paul Young says the board will not replace MATA leadership at least for now. Council members also expect Tuesday to consider a Frayser landfill expansion that was rejected seven years ago.
TVA has about 500 large power users that participate in its demand response system, but it won’t say how much energy they cut when they’re asked. It also won’t say who those 500 users are.
MLGW is ready for heavy rain but isn’t expecting winds as strong as those associated with Hurricane Francine.
A wind advisory is in effect and could be upgraded to a high-wind advisory.
With a focus on tree-trimming and milder weather, Memphis Light, Gas and Water reported a drop in area outages from 2023 to 2024.
“There’s a lot of issues that are unknown, and there’s a lot of contamination. ... So how do we address that, and where are those sources coming from?” the science director at Protect Our Aquifer said.
Energy costs continued to climb for Memphians last week when the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors voted to raise electric rates.
After xAI’s supercomputer came online, the Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence startup revamped its plans for a greywater facility to include other large water users.
The meeting hosted by MLGW alongside Memphis City Council member Pearl Walker came after months of community worry about the project, which promises to add the electrical equivalent of several thousand homes to the utility’s distribution system. Related story:
Environmental activists have raised concerns about emissions from the site as well as impact on the region’s drinking water.
The treated wastewater from the plant would replace demand on the region’s supply and save hundreds of millions of drinking water a year from industrial use.
The request comes amid the backdrop of some grassroots opposition to the project in Memphis and growing awareness nationwide of the demands supercomputers and other data centers have placed on electric grids and water supplies.
The utility company also said the supercomputer’s heavy electric load will have “no impact” on its reliability.
The issue of having a suburban vote on the MLGW board lost steam this week.
The sponsor withdrew the referendum as other Memphis City Council members prepared to vote it down. The council also dealt with three other ballot questions.
A megapack would provide 1.9 megawatts of power and cost about $1.1 million.
A source close to xAI said it could share a greywater plant with the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA did not dismiss the idea. Related story:
Council members also take the second of three votes Tuesday on a city referendum that would expand the Memphis Light, Gas and Water board by two seats, with the two new voting members coming from outside the City of Memphis.
A new plan for expanding the Memphis Light, Gas and Water board to include two voting suburban seats is still an uphill battle to get on the November ballot.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water announced its plans for a greywater treatment facility, running parallel to the greywater facility plans of Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence company xAI.