The US government is ramping up discussions with major tech companies to address the substantial power demand that will come with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI).
Axios reported that the US Department of Energy is exploring options to enable energy-intensive tech firms to build compact nuclear power facilities within their extensive data center complexes.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that AI itself is not the issue. The ongoing surge in energy consumption means that both the US government and major corporations like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon must expedite their negotiations, she added.
According to Reuters citing The Information, Microsoft and OpenAI have outlined a US$100 billion data center initiative, aimed at building a series of supercomputers in five phases, including the Stargate AI computing system slated for deployment in the US by 2028. To support the huge power consumption of these systems, the two companies are exploring alternative energy sources such as nuclear power
Bloomberg and the BBC quoted John Pettigrew, CEO of National Grid UK, saying during a conference in Oxford that the urgency of establishing a larger and more energy-intensive computing infrastructure amid the advancement of fundamental technologies like AI and quantum computing. He cautioned that the electricity demand of data centers in the UK could surge to six times its current level in the next decade.
This will put significant pressure on the UK's electricity grid, especially as data centers in London rely on electricity transmission from Scottish wind farms to secure substantial amounts of renewable energy, said Pettigrew. He stressed that now is the time for "innovative thinking and bold action" to develop the necessary power infrastructure for the future.
Neighboring Ireland is also facing similar challenges with Official statistics for 2022 revealing that the country's data center electricity consumption has soared by 400% since 2015, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the country's total electricity usage. Ireland now accommodates the European headquarters of global tech giants, including Google and Meta.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) also expects that global electricity demand will more than double in the next three years, driven by factors such as data centers, AI, and cryptocurrencies.
