{"id":437472,"date":"2026-04-05T08:06:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=437472"},"modified":"2026-04-05T08:06:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:06:04","slug":"off-grid-data-centers-will-help-protect-ratepayers-but-codifying-arc-es-would-do-even-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=437472","title":{"rendered":"Off-Grid Data Centers Will Help Protect Ratepayers, But Codifying ARC-ES Would Do Even More"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"687\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"437474\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437474\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"784,1168\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0 Off-Grid Data Centers Will Help Protect Ratepayers, But Codifying ARC-ES Would Do Even Mor\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?fit=687%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?resize=687%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?resize=687%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 687w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?resize=201%2C300&amp;ssl=1 201w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?resize=768%2C1144&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?resize=640%2C953&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?w=784&amp;ssl=1 784w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 687px) 100vw, 687px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/2026\/04\/03\/off-grid-data-centers-will-help-protect-ratepayers-but-codifying-arc-es-would-do-even-more\/\">Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/authors\/gary_abernathy\/\">Gary Abernathy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This article was originally published at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/empoweringamerica.org\/off-grid-data-centers-will-help-protect-ratepayers-but-codifying-arc-es-would-do-even-more\/\">The Empowerment Alliance<\/a>\u00a0and is re-published here with permission.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between the war in Iran, the controversies involving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and other developing national and world events, a pledge made in early August by our biggest AI companies did not get the attention it deserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In communities big and small across the U.S., emerging data centers have been a source of controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/news\/03032026\/pennsylvania-data-center-resistance\/\">\u201cGrassroots resistance to data centers rises in Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilx.com\/2025\/12\/16\/data-center-protest-outside-michigan-capitol\/\">\u201cResidents protest data centers outside Michigan capitol as debates rage on.\u201d<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reportingtexas.com\/texans-demand-special-legislative-session-for-data-center-debate\/\">\u201cTexans demand special legislative session for data center debate.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The headlines keep coming.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/01\/25\/nx-s1-5684321\/trump-ai\">As NPR r<\/a>eported, \u201cThe large-scale facilities are necessary to match the electricity demand required for AI, but high energy costs come with them, angering residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In reality, the relation of new data centers to higher electric costs in the communities in which they are built are more complicated than the notion of a simple direct correlation. But it is beyond dispute that data centers need a huge amount of electricity and an endless supply of water to cool the facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration reacted to those concerns by taking the first step in ensuring that AI companies acknowledge the issue and do their part to mitigate the impact, a move Trump mentioned during his February State of the Union address and finalized a few days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAmazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge,\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2026\/03\/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-advances-energy-affordability-with-the-ratepayer-protection-pledge\/\">\u00a0the White House announced<\/a>\u00a0on March 4, a pledge that means the companies agreed to \u201cbuild, bring, or buy new generation resources and cover the cost of all power delivery infrastructure upgrades required for their data centers, ensuring such expenses are not passed to American households.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In accordance with the plan, \u201c\u2026these companies will negotiate separate rate structures with utilities and State governments, and commit to pay these rates for the power and related infrastructure\u00a0 brought online to service their data centers, whether they use the electricity or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/trump-says-he-has-told-big-tech-companies-build-their-own-power-plants-2026-02-25\/\">Trump said<\/a>\u00a0in his State of the Union remarks. \u201cWe have an old grid. It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that\u2019s needed. So I\u2019m telling them, they can build their own plant. They\u2019re going to produce their own electricity. It will ensure the company\u2019s ability to get electricity, while at the same time, lowering prices of electricity for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While many data center operators did not originally intend to build their own off-grid gas plants, the reality of their needs are leading an increasing number of them to change their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPower plants have bloomed in New Albany, Ohio, near Columbus, as if overnight,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/03\/18\/business\/energy-environment\/data-center-energy-gas-generators.html\">the New<\/a>\u00a0York Times recently reported. \u201cIt was little more than a year ago that Sloan Spalding, the mayor, learned that a data center developer wanted to build the town\u2019s first gas-fired power plant. Now, three are under construction, all meant to exclusively power data centers, and at least one other is planned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Plants like those \u201cwill not affect the price of electricity for Ohio residents because the facilities are not connected to the grid,\u201d the Times reported. The same is true elsewhere. And once again, natural gas is king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCompanies are gravitating to gas because it can theoretically generate electricity all day, unlike the wind or sun. And smaller gas generators and engines can be installed much faster than nuclear power plants,\u201d the Times noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The only downside is that the pledge made by the data center companies is for now voluntary, with little enforcement outside deals negotiated with state regulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s why it\u2019s more important than ever to codify the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act (ARC-ES),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/balderson.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2895\">introduced in Congress<\/a>\u00a0late last year by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH). ARC-ES \u201cwould require relevant federal agencies \u2014 such as the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency \u2014 to review any actions relating to affordable, reliable, or clean energy within 90 days and submit a report to Congress. The bill guarantees that our most affordable and reliable energy sources, including nuclear and natural gas, remain part of the energy mix \u2013 a crucial requirement to guarantee affordable and reliable energy for American households and businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regardless of any controversies surrounding artificial intelligence and the data centers needed to generate the growing demand, what everyone should agree on is the importance of the U.S. being the world leader in the AI boom. Allowing China or other countries to control AI technology would spell disaster for Americans and other freedom-loving nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Natural gas will be the leading source of electricity generation for decades to come. Protecting its production beyond President Trump\u2019s term should be the highest priority for the president and for lawmakers who want to ensure America\u2019s place as the world leader in technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With America\u2019s 250th birthday right around the corner on July 4, it doesn\u2019t require artificial intelligence to know that the biggest gift of all would be a guarantee of energy security and independence for ourselves, our children and generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing\u00a0<\/em><em>columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing opinion columnist for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/empoweringamerica.org\/\">The Empowerment Alliance<\/a>, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Between the war in Iran, the controversies involving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and other developing national and world events, a pledge made in early August by our biggest AI companies did not get the attention it deserved.<\/p>\n<p>In communities big and small across the U.S., emerging data centers have been a source of controversy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":437474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691823433,691818128,691835262,691842173],"class_list":["post-437472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ai-artificial-intelligence-2","tag-energy","tag-reliable-and-clean-energy-security-act-arc-es","tag-u-s-electricity-use","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Off-Grid-Data-Centers-Will-Help-Protect-Ratepayers-But-Codifying-ARC-ES-Would-Do-Even-Mor.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1PO0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":414229,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=414229","url_meta":{"origin":437472,"position":0},"title":"When Energy Is Done Right, a Rising Tide Will Lift All Boats","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/22\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When it comes to energy, the main concern for working class Americans and families in general is affordability.","rel":"","context":"In \"ARC-ES\"","block_context":{"text":"ARC-ES","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arc-es"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0Screenshot-2025-11-22-124552.png?fit=1200%2C663&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0Screenshot-2025-11-22-124552.png?fit=1200%2C663&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0Screenshot-2025-11-22-124552.png?fit=1200%2C663&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0Screenshot-2025-11-22-124552.png?fit=1200%2C663&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0Screenshot-2025-11-22-124552.png?fit=1200%2C663&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":444916,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=444916","url_meta":{"origin":437472,"position":1},"title":"The Electricity Myth: Data Centers Aren\u2019t the Villain","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/17\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Public backlash toward data centers is escalating. Activist groups gather to voice concerns, and in some cities, council members are being voted out of office for approving data center construction. Extreme resistance includes an Indianapolis councilman receiving 13 bullet holes through his front door and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman\u2019s San\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"activist groups\"","block_context":{"text":"activist groups","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=activist-groups"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-The-Electricity-Myth-Data-Centers-Arent-the-Villain.png?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-The-Electricity-Myth-Data-Centers-Arent-the-Villain.png?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-The-Electricity-Myth-Data-Centers-Arent-the-Villain.png?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-The-Electricity-Myth-Data-Centers-Arent-the-Villain.png?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":414399,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=414399","url_meta":{"origin":437472,"position":2},"title":"As China launches an AI Manhattan Project, US AI Support is buckling under High Energy Prices","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/23\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201c\u2026 While American AI researchers struggle with a fragile power grid, Chinese developers now treat energy availability as a solved problem. \u2026\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"\"AI-Energy\" policy\"","block_context":{"text":"\"AI-Energy\" policy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ai-energy-policy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPnk-4HxQXCXnjnWHXFeBMyRQFNUhIiKBA1KXpYU_gAjmgAjCDl6VNymWmVO_iiN4FMrn-2UJAycypDmy9mA5_aVWVzu0GenVYT0Hlb7oWabLFhkRbGff3k33f5Wnp7-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPnk-4HxQXCXnjnWHXFeBMyRQFNUhIiKBA1KXpYU_gAjmgAjCDl6VNymWmVO_iiN4FMrn-2UJAycypDmy9mA5_aVWVzu0GenVYT0Hlb7oWabLFhkRbGff3k33f5Wnp7-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPnk-4HxQXCXnjnWHXFeBMyRQFNUhIiKBA1KXpYU_gAjmgAjCDl6VNymWmVO_iiN4FMrn-2UJAycypDmy9mA5_aVWVzu0GenVYT0Hlb7oWabLFhkRbGff3k33f5Wnp7-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPnk-4HxQXCXnjnWHXFeBMyRQFNUhIiKBA1KXpYU_gAjmgAjCDl6VNymWmVO_iiN4FMrn-2UJAycypDmy9mA5_aVWVzu0GenVYT0Hlb7oWabLFhkRbGff3k33f5Wnp7-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPnk-4HxQXCXnjnWHXFeBMyRQFNUhIiKBA1KXpYU_gAjmgAjCDl6VNymWmVO_iiN4FMrn-2UJAycypDmy9mA5_aVWVzu0GenVYT0Hlb7oWabLFhkRbGff3k33f5Wnp7-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":441232,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=441232","url_meta":{"origin":437472,"position":3},"title":"Launching AI into Orbit","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/24\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Launching AI into Orbit\" is a hot topic in 2026, referring to the rapidly accelerating efforts to deploy artificial intelligence computing capabilities \u2014 especially AI data centers, GPUs, and inference workloads \u2014 directly in space (primarily Low Earth Orbit, or LEO).","rel":"","context":"In \"AI (artificial intelligence\"","block_context":{"text":"AI (artificial intelligence","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ai-artificial-intelligence"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Launching-AI-into-Orbit.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Launching-AI-into-Orbit.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Launching-AI-into-Orbit.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Launching-AI-into-Orbit.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Launching-AI-into-Orbit.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":433557,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=433557","url_meta":{"origin":437472,"position":4},"title":"The AI Race Isn\u2019t Just About Chips. It\u2019s About Power.","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/23\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The global competition around artificial intelligence is usually framed as a race for chips, models, and computing capacity. That is only part of the story. The binding constraint is increasingly electrical power. In the U.S., data centers already account for roughly 4% to 5% of electricity use, and EPRI projects\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"AI (artificial intelligence)\"","block_context":{"text":"AI (artificial intelligence)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ai-artificial-intelligence-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":423331,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423331","url_meta":{"origin":437472,"position":5},"title":"Data centers are the physical internet","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/26\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Building new data centers has become highly controversial. This massive public debate suffers from a major confusion in that what data centers do is seldom mentioned, except that they do AI, which is also controversial.","rel":"","context":"In \"AI (artificial intelligence)\"","block_context":{"text":"AI (artificial intelligence)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ai-artificial-intelligence-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNELigv_4ARQjLqExty6bpjsq_jsCxTuCnR8aYEHEXuilfBZ__VHvU75Y3PcEndlUYfm6rdLSFp_iYHFPFh1PighlvzWb-b_0biKpEgztnQaTi6gAcg6uGXu9CftHb5FsLfIdSTh_sBb71FBytAt3rdhmd_lg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=437472"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437484,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437472\/revisions\/437484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/437474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=437472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=437472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=437472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}