Training and running large models consumes electricity on an industrial scale.
A single can draw as much power as a small city.
of total demand vary so widely that they are close to useless.
per calculation has improved faster than almost any other technology.
Total consumption has nonetheless risen, because cheaper is used more.
This pattern has a name in energy economics and a long history in other sectors.
Water is the constraint that receives less attention and binds sooner.
is cheap and consumes millions of litres in a dry region.
Several proposed sites have been refused on water grounds rather than on carbon.
Location is therefore becoming the main policy lever available to a government.
A centre placed where power is already clean and cool air is free imposes little.
The same centre on a stressed raises prices for every other user.
Operators now sign long contracts for new generation rather than buying from the pool.
Whether that adds or merely reserves existing is the question regulators are slow to ask.
The honest answer differs by market, which is why a single national rule fits badly.