https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/spacexs-terafab-will-rely-on-natural-gas-power-plants-not-tesla-solar-panels/
john larkin <jl@htigct.com>wrote:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/spacexs-terafab-will-rely-on-natural-gas-power-plants-not-tesla-solar-panels/
On 9/08/2026 1:16 am, john larkin wrote:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/spacexs-terafab-will-rely-on-natural-gas-power-plants-not-tesla-solar-panels/
The link complains that I am using an ad blocker.
Burning natural gas is a more expensive way of generating electric power >than relying of solar panels. The solar panels are intermittent sources
so you do have to back them up with batteries, and Musk could buy in
some of those nice blade cells from BYD in China. Or he could use his
own rather more primitive cells.
The implication is that Musk is nuts, but he's close to Donald Trump so
that pretty much goes without saying. Trump's derangement probably isn't >contagious - he just attracts other nut-cases.
On Sun, 9 Aug 2026 02:22:36 +1000, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:
On 9/08/2026 1:16 am, john larkin wrote:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/spacexs-terafab-will-rely-on-natural-gas-power-plants-not-tesla-solar-panels/
The link complains that I am using an ad blocker.
Burning natural gas is a more expensive way of generating electric power
than relying of solar panels. The solar panels are intermittent sources
so you do have to back them up with batteries, and Musk could buy in
some of those nice blade cells from BYD in China. Or he could use his
own rather more primitive cells.
The implication is that Musk is nuts, but he's close to Donald Trump so
that pretty much goes without saying. Trump's derangement probably isn't
contagious - he just attracts other nut-cases.
Elon is indeed crazy, in a good sort of way.
I know a guy who knows him, drove prototype Teslas around with him
[1]. He likes Elon.
[1] with no back seat, but six other engineers, in a heap.
john larkin <jl@htigct.com>wrote:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/spacexs-terafab-will-rely-on-natural-gas-power-plants-not-tesla-solar-panels/
Musk should build a nuclear power plant
It is green.
Better for the people and climate.
Cheaper 'trickety too.
Oh and he could use the stuff to make some nukes for in his satellites? Ooops...
Well is obvious anyways...
Bill Sloman <Bill.Sloman@IEEE.org> wrote: |--------------------------------------------------------------------------| |"One of my friends is maniac depressive. It took forty years before I got | | got to hear about the formal diagnosis, but I always knew he was nuts. | |It didn't stop him patenting a better version of the confocal | |microscope, and making a lot of money out of it, but he is still nuts, | |if perfectly likeable." | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Doctor Sloman,
Thanks. This is interesting. My Ph.D. supervisrix (also in optics) was diagnosed by a psychiatrist as being mentally ill.
(S. HTTP://Gloucester.Insomnia247.NL/ fuer Kontaktdaten!)
diagnosed by a psychiatrist as being mentally ill. || |
(S. HTTP://Gloucester.Insomnia247.NL/ fuer Kontaktdaten!) |
He's in a big hurry.
AI Summary of why gas is the way to go in this instance.
1. Real Estate Footprint (The 7.6 GW Problem)
Semiconductor fabs operate at near-100% capacity utilization rates and require massive, continuous baseload power. To generate enough
electricity to consistently power an industrial footprint expected to eventually span 100 million square feet, a solar array would require
roughly 8,000 to 10,000+ acres ( > 15 aq miles) of open land. Gas
turbines pack gigawatts of power into a fraction of that physical space.
2. Speed to Market vs. Grid Timelines Connecting a multi-gigawatt solar-and-battery array to a regional grid or building it independently requires immense regulatory, environmental, and infrastructure lead
times. By utilizing on-site natural gas generators (mirroring the power structure SpaceX's xAI subsidiary deployed in Memphis), Terafab can
bypass standard ERCOT queue wait times and deploy manufacturing tools
much faster.
3. Zero-Tolerance for Intermittency Even minor millisecond power fluctuations can ruin an entire production batch of high-end AI logic
and vehicle chips. Natural gas generators offer dispatchable power|ore4rCYmeaning they can be ramped up or down precisely on demand|ore4rCYwhereas solar relies entirely on the weather and the rapid cycling of giant battery blocks to maintain perfect voltage stability.
The
facility will probably generate a continuous 200 MW, 24/7 365 days per
annum minimum.
On 10/08/2026 12:30 pm, Someone wrote:
He's in a big hurry.
And grasps at what looks like the easiest solution.
AI Summary of why gas is the way to go in this instance.
1. Real Estate Footprint (The 7.6 GW Problem)
Semiconductor fabs operate at near-100% capacity utilization rates and
require massive, continuous baseload power. To generate enough
electricity to consistently power an industrial footprint expected to
eventually span 100 million square feet, a solar array would require
roughly 8,000 to 10,000+ acres ( > 15 aq miles) of open land. Gas
turbines pack gigawatts of power into a fraction of that physical space.
That's a problem that transmission line solve, and have been solving for >more than a century. It's not the simplest thing to set up, but neither
are the long term reliable natural gas supplies for gas turbines.
2. Speed to Market vs. Grid Timelines Connecting a multi-gigawatt
solar-and-battery array to a regional grid or building it independently
requires immense regulatory, environmental, and infrastructure lead
times. By utilizing on-site natural gas generators (mirroring the power
structure SpaceX's xAI subsidiary deployed in Memphis), Terafab can
bypass standard ERCOT queue wait times and deploy manufacturing tools
much faster.
Cheating always saves time, until somebody notices.
3. Zero-Tolerance for Intermittency Even minor millisecond power
fluctuations can ruin an entire production batch of high-end AI logic
and vehicle chips. Natural gas generators offer dispatchable
powerrComeaning they can be ramped up or down precisely on
demandrCowhereas solar relies entirely on the weather and the rapid
cycling of giant battery blocks to maintain perfect voltage stability.
Battery blocks are the ideal source of stable power. Salesmen claiming
that they can ramp up their gas-turbine generators rapidly to come close
are simply lying. If you believe them, you are a gullible idiot.
Providing enough renewable generation capacity to keep the batteries >reliably charged to an adequate level means that some of it is going to
sit idle for a lot of the time, but mostly you can sell that unused
output to the grid via your battery bank at a time when they can use it.
On Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:16:48 +1000, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:
On 10/08/2026 12:30 pm, Someone wrote:
He's in a big hurry.
And grasps at what looks like the easiest solution.
AI Summary of why gas is the way to go in this instance.
1. Real Estate Footprint (The 7.6 GW Problem)
Semiconductor fabs operate at near-100% capacity utilization rates and
require massive, continuous baseload power. To generate enough
electricity to consistently power an industrial footprint expected to
eventually span 100 million square feet, a solar array would require
roughly 8,000 to 10,000+ acres ( > 15 aq miles) of open land. Gas
turbines pack gigawatts of power into a fraction of that physical space.
That's a problem that transmission line solve, and have been solving for
more than a century. It's not the simplest thing to set up, but neither
are the long term reliable natural gas supplies for gas turbines.
2. Speed to Market vs. Grid Timelines Connecting a multi-gigawatt
solar-and-battery array to a regional grid or building it independently
requires immense regulatory, environmental, and infrastructure lead
times. By utilizing on-site natural gas generators (mirroring the power
structure SpaceX's xAI subsidiary deployed in Memphis), Terafab can
bypass standard ERCOT queue wait times and deploy manufacturing tools
much faster.
Cheating always saves time, until somebody notices.
3. Zero-Tolerance for Intermittency Even minor millisecond power
fluctuations can ruin an entire production batch of high-end AI logic
and vehicle chips. Natural gas generators offer dispatchable
power|ore4rCYmeaning they can be ramped up or down precisely on
demand|ore4rCYwhereas solar relies entirely on the weather and the rapid >>> cycling of giant battery blocks to maintain perfect voltage stability.
Battery blocks are the ideal source of stable power. Salesmen claiming
that they can ramp up their gas-turbine generators rapidly to come close
are simply lying. If you believe them, you are a gullible idiot.
Providing enough renewable generation capacity to keep the batteries
reliably charged to an adequate level means that some of it is going to
sit idle for a lot of the time, but mostly you can sell that unused
output to the grid via your battery bank at a time when they can use it.
A gas pipeline moves a lot of energy, compared to an electrical
transmission line.
And it stores a lot of energy as a bonus.
Generate electricity close to the point of use.
On 13/08/2026 8:14 am, john larkin wrote:
On Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:16:48 +1000, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:
On 10/08/2026 12:30 pm, Someone wrote:
He's in a big hurry.
And grasps at what looks like the easiest solution.
AI Summary of why gas is the way to go in this instance.That's a problem that transmission line solve, and have been solving for >>> more than a century. It's not the simplest thing to set up, but neither
1. Real Estate Footprint (The 7.6 GW Problem)
Semiconductor fabs operate at near-100% capacity utilization rates and >>>> require massive, continuous baseload power. To generate enough
electricity to consistently power an industrial footprint expected to
eventually span 100 million square feet, a solar array would require
roughly 8,000 to 10,000+ acres ( > 15 aq miles) of open land. Gas
turbines pack gigawatts of power into a fraction of that physical space. >>>
are the long term reliable natural gas supplies for gas turbines.
2. Speed to Market vs. Grid Timelines Connecting a multi-gigawatt
solar-and-battery array to a regional grid or building it independently >>>> requires immense regulatory, environmental, and infrastructure lead
times. By utilizing on-site natural gas generators (mirroring the power >>>> structure SpaceX's xAI subsidiary deployed in Memphis), Terafab can
bypass standard ERCOT queue wait times and deploy manufacturing tools
much faster.
Cheating always saves time, until somebody notices.
3. Zero-Tolerance for Intermittency Even minor millisecond power
fluctuations can ruin an entire production batch of high-end AI logic
and vehicle chips. Natural gas generators offer dispatchable
powerrComeaning they can be ramped up or down precisely on
demandrCowhereas solar relies entirely on the weather and the rapid
cycling of giant battery blocks to maintain perfect voltage stability.
Battery blocks are the ideal source of stable power. Salesmen claiming
that they can ramp up their gas-turbine generators rapidly to come close >>> are simply lying. If you believe them, you are a gullible idiot.
Providing enough renewable generation capacity to keep the batteries
reliably charged to an adequate level means that some of it is going to
sit idle for a lot of the time, but mostly you can sell that unused
output to the grid via your battery bank at a time when they can use it.
A gas pipeline moves a lot of energy, compared to an electrical
transmission line.
It might at the moment. When it gets to be worth the investment >high-temperature super-conductor transmission lines will wipe the floor
with them.
And it stores a lot of energy as a bonus.
Which somebody has to pay for while it is in transit.
Generate electricity close to the point of use.
Until you get super-conducting transmission lines.
On Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:50:35 +1000, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:
On 13/08/2026 8:14 am, john larkin wrote:
On Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:16:48 +1000, Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org>
wrote:
On 10/08/2026 12:30 pm, Someone wrote:
Battery blocks are the ideal source of stable power. Salesmen claiming >>>> that they can ramp up their gas-turbine generators rapidly to come close >>>> are simply lying. If you believe them, you are a gullible idiot.A gas pipeline moves a lot of energy, compared to an electrical
Providing enough renewable generation capacity to keep the batteries
reliably charged to an adequate level means that some of it is going to >>>> sit idle for a lot of the time, but mostly you can sell that unused
output to the grid via your battery bank at a time when they can use it. >>>
transmission line.
It might at the moment. When it gets to be worth the investment
high-temperature super-conductor transmission lines will wipe the floor
with them.
And it stores a lot of energy as a bonus.
Which somebody has to pay for while it is in transit.
Generate electricity close to the point of use.
Until you get super-conducting transmission lines.
"It's the technology of the future, and always will be."
The industry is positively manic and non-stop.
AI summary
Extreme Financial Investments: Building a modern mega-fab costs upward
of $10 billion to $20 billion. The specialized equipment, such as ASML extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, depreciates rapidly. Companies like TSMC, Intel, and GlobalFoundries must run production
non-stop to maximize yield and recoup their investments.
Long and Sensitive Production Cycles: Manufacturing a single silicon
wafer from start to finish takes up to 12 to 26 weeks and involves
thousands of sequential steps. If production stops midway, entire
batches of highly sensitive wafers can be ruined.
Redundant Utilities: To prevent accidental blackouts, fabs are connected
to highly stable power grids, often supported by massive uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and backup industrial generators. A brief half-hour power loss can stall production for days and cost millions of dollars.
Maintaining Cleanroom Environments: Fabs operate under strict
"cleanroom" conditions where temperature, humidity, and air particles
are tightly controlled. Shutting down and restarting the massive HVAC
and filtration systems takes too much time and risks contaminating the environment.
Chemical and Tool Stability: Many chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and etching tools must remain at precise operating temperatures or under
vacuum pressures. Powering them down can cause thermal stress, component damage, or calibration drift.
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