this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2025
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I thought they where using commercial off the shelf generators?
They are using portable generators only intended for short term usage in an emergency. One of the tradeoffs of being portable is that the generators are unable to combust the natural gas "cleanly"(under sufficient temperature and with enough oxygen, resulting in this ideal reaction: CH4 + 2 O2 -> 2 H2O + CO2), leading to incomplete reactions releasing many pollutants, most of which are at least suspected of causing cancer. This is acceptable in an emergency but not if some narcist runs them in a population center without proper permission to feed his horribly inefficient model in an attempt to keep up with other AI labs.
As someone studying mechanical engineer I'm well aware of the process. I'm also well aware that all commercial generators must abide by environmental regulations.