xAI has a permit to install 240 MWe of gas turbines, specifically fifteen Solar-SMT-130 models, will let them double the GPUs to 400,000. The 200,000 new chips will be Nvidia B200s. This should be about 6-7 Zettaflops of compute. This will be about 11 times the 100K H100s compute used for pre-training Grok 3.
The permit for xAI to install turbines, specifically fifteen Solar-SMT-130 models, will let them double the GPUs to 400,000.
15 of the 16 MWe turbines is 240 MW. This would double the power there from 250 MW to 490 MW. This is enough for 400,000 GPUs.
This filing aligns with xAI’s ongoing efforts to expand its infrastructure, as the supercomputer’s capacity reportedly doubled to 200,000 GPUs by December 2024, with plans to scale further toward 1 million GPUs.
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I heard some applications of using this turbine vendor equipment instead of flaring gas at remote extraction sites.
Despite the word Solar, these turbines have nothing to do with solar energy. In any case, Elon Musk seems to be promoting renewable energy at all costs, but it’s not with solar panels that he’ll be able to power data centers. I’m not against fossil fuels and nuclear power, I just want to show the difference between rhetoric and reality.
I sometimes suspect that, while Musk is something of a believer in non-fossil energy, (As opposed to ‘renewable’, which arbitrarily excludes nuclear.) another motive is that he just didn’t want to make a mortal enemy of the Greens.
Now, of course, that’s water over the dam, over-determined, and I expect Trump will make a move to support nuclear once nuclear regulation has been rationalized.
Hope so. Nuclear is superior.
Several new reactor styles will be commercially available in a few more years.
But for now, I want musk to use Any & all power sources available to him. Having the smartest ai, means everything gets improved. Breakthroughs in everything from fusion to cancer.
Phillippe, yes you are highlighting that it isn’t Elon that provided the rhetoric, it was “Solar Turbines Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., “. If you want to fault Elon for wanting to get the xAI Data Center up quicker than any renewable energy source could provide, then accuse to the full extent of your enjoyment. Heck, even the existence of the xAI data center was due to no other data center being able to meet the hosting requirement. Though Larry Ellison seems to be trying to expand his hosting capability to allow for greatly added AI hosting with a marketing show Larry is famous for.
Okay, here is how you fix your naming concerns.
1. Call up Caterpillar Executives and get a meeting
2. State your case that they need better naming not to confuse those that assume Solar is Solar powered without Googling the Company to learn in 15 seconds what the product is. Make sure you explain fully your rhetoric and reality point as that will certainly drive their compassion and decision making.
3. Enjoy that you stated your mind while creating entertainment for the execs after you left the meeting.
Bonus item: Send the message to Elon that he needs to move slower to ensure the fossil fuels are minimized.
Yes it is natural gas. I think the company might also use Solaris for product branding. Subsidiary of Caterpillar.
It is not rhetoric but it is corporate naming.
Solar Turbines, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, is often mistaken for a solar energy company due to its name, but it primarily manufactures industrial gas turbines for power generation, marine propulsion, and natural gas/oil processing. Founded in 1927 as Prudden-San Diego Airplane Company, it was acquired by Caterpillar in 1981 and now serves global markets with over 16,000 units installed.
In March 1929, the company changed its name to Solar Aircraft Company, referencing San Diego’s sunny climate.
Over the decades, the company diversified, particularly during and after World War II, focusing on components for other manufacturers and later on jet engine components. By the mid-20th century, it began investing heavily in gas turbine development, anticipating their future importance.
1956: Solar Aircraft Company was purchased by Continental Motors Corporation.
1957: Continental Motors Corporation was acquired by Thompson Products.
1958: Thompson Products merged with Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation to form Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (TRW).
1964: TRW sold Solar to International Harvester Company, and it operated as the Solar Division based in San Diego.
During this period, from 1964 to 1981, the company was known as the Solar Division of International Harvester, focusing on gas turbine-driven compressor sets, pump packages, and generator sets for oil and gas applications.
In 1981 they changed the name when they were bought by Caterpillar. They had been using some variation of a solar name for their company or division for 52 years.
What was solar power doing?
Global solar PV capacity in 1981 was approximately 20 MW.
Solar PV was in its early stages, with small-scale installations and experimental projects.
300 Megawatts globally in 1992.
Solar Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, incorporated in 1996 in India, was identified as a company in the pharmaceutical sector, not solar energy
Windstream Holdings, a telecommunications company providing broadband and managed services, was considered (Windstream Holdings). Its name, “Windstream,” might suggest wind energy, but it operates in telecom, potentially misleading in the energy context
BP (now says this stands for Beyond Petroleum). But they are 98+% an oil company.