Oracle plans to power its New Mexico mega datacenter with a 2.45GW fuel cell farm
No sense in OpenAI stressing over its cloud bills if Oracle can't get the lights on
Close on the heels of a report that OpenAI has missed revenue targets and may not be able to pay its future bills, compute partner Oracle is keeping calm and carrying on with a massive new datacenter complex in the New Mexico desert.
It seems like founder and chairman Larry Ellison is less concerned about whether Sam Altman can afford rent at the complex, than figuring out how to power it.
This week, the database giant announced an expanded collaboration with Bloom Energy to deploy 2.45 gigawatts — the equivalent of two or three nuclear reactors — of fuel cell generators alongside the datacenter complex. Previously, Oracle had committed to purchasing 1.2 gigawatts of Bloom fuel cells with the option to expand to 2.8 gigawatts.
Fuel cells are one of several energy sources hyperscalers have adopted to supplement grid power in areas where local utilities either can't or won't meet demand on their own.
President Trump's demand that datacenters shield voters from higher power bills has no doubt factored into Oracle's decision as well. Ellison is a big supporter of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement after all, and has contributed mightily to Republican political campaigns in recent years.
Among the alternative energy sources being explored, small modular reactors (SMRs) and orbital datacenters have gotten a considerable amount of attention as of late. And while Oracle does plan to employ SMRs in the future, that's unlikely to happen before the end of the decade.
That leaves gas turbines, which are also in short supply, and fuel cells, like those developed by Bloom Energy to bridge the gap.
Oracle originally planned to use a combination of gas and diesel generators to power the campus, codenamed Project Jupiter.
The switch to fuel cells isn't quite the sustainability win you might think. Unlike the fuel cells used in space flight, Bloom's primarily run on natural gas. They can be converted to run on hydrogen, but for that to work, you also have to find a supply of H2 that was sustainably sourced, which is harder than it sounds.
Oracle is pitching it as a green move nonetheless. Fuel cells don't require combustion to produce power, which cuts down on the amount of smog-generating emissions. That should certainly help Oracle avoid repeating xAI's PR disaster over the use of portable gas generators in Memphis, Tennessee.
Oracle was also keen to point out that fuel cells only consume a small amount of water compared to combustion alternatives. Oracle has already made the decision not to use water-hungry evaporative coolers on site. That means the datacenters won't consume much water directly.
When can we expect Oracle's first fuel-cell power data hall to come online? The company hasn't said.
However, Oracle has been in touch to confirm construction of the datacenter campus is already underway, but stopped short of providing a concrete timeline for completion. “Oracle expects construction milestones for the campus will move forward on time and according to plan,” a company spokesperson told El Reg. ®
Updated on April 29 with comment from Oracle.