Crusoe Cloud located a massive AI data center in West Texas because the area has so much wind and solar power that prices frequently go negative. Transmission bottlenecks mean renewable producers must often shut down, creating a unique opportunity for energy-hungry data centers to co-locate and absorb the stranded, ultra-cheap power.

While solar panels are inexpensive, the total system cost to achieve 100% reliable, 24/7 coverage is massive. These "hidden costs"—enormous battery storage, transmission build-outs, and grid complexity—make the final price of a full solution comparable to nuclear. This is why hyperscalers are actively pursuing nuclear for their data centers.

The U.S. has plenty of power for the AI boom, but it's in the wrong places—far from existing data centers, fiber networks, and population centers. The critical challenge is not generation capacity but rather bridging the geographical gap between where power is abundant and where it is needed.

Contrary to the common focus on chip manufacturing, the immediate bottleneck for building new AI data centers is energy. Factors like power availability, grid interconnects, and high-voltage equipment are the true constraints, forcing companies to explore solutions like on-site power generation.

For Europe to compete in AI, it must overcome its aversion to large-scale energy projects. The winning strategy is to co-locate massive compute infrastructure in areas with cheap, abundant energy, like Norwegian wind farms. Without this, Europe risks becoming a 'tourist economy' built on past glories.

Unlike traditional fermentation where moving to larger tanks introduces significant process variability, photosynthetic systems using photobioreactors scale modularly. Companies can simply add more units ("scaling out"), which minimizes performance differences and de-risks the transition to commercial-scale manufacturing.

To circumvent grid connection delays, infrastructure costs, and potential consumer rate impacts, data centers are increasingly opting for energy independence. They are deploying on-site power solutions like gas turbines and fuel cells, which can be faster to implement and avoid burdening the local utility system.

The primary factor for siting new AI hubs has shifted from network routes and cheap land to the availability of stable, large-scale electricity. This creates "strategic electricity advantages" where regions with reliable grids and generation capacity are becoming the new epicenters for AI infrastructure, regardless of their prior tech hub status.

The ability to drill sideways underground, a technique perfected by the fossil fuel industry, is being repurposed to make geothermal energy more powerful. This technology transfer allows for greater energy extraction from hot rocks, making geothermal a more viable clean energy source to meet demand from data centers.