Demand for data centers is expected to increase as companies adopt AI, increasing the need for non-renewable energy sources. Jason Marz/Getty Images
AI leads to massive demand for electricity.
Despite previous commitments, some executives now say clean energy may not be able to meet the growing needs of AI.
That could force AI companies to rely more heavily on fossil fuels than they had hoped.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.
Artificial intelligence is leading to a dramatic increase in electricity demand. And even though tech industry executives have long been her Commitment to a green energy future As they say, the urgency of this need presents them with a difficult path.
The question of how to fuel the AI boom took center stage at S&P Global’s CERAWeek earlier this month, reported the Wall Street Journal. The annual energy conference draws thousands of executives to Houston to discuss topics ranging from geopolitics to the energy transition.
Read too
Secret project “Theia” revealed: Amazon is developing an AI tool that will redefine our online shopping experience
New energy sources are too uncertain – only fossil energies can now cover the demand
Nobody knows how much electricity companies will need to fuel the AI boom. Artificial intelligence requires enormous computing power and energy. It has led to an explosion in data centers. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said at the conference that the amount of energy AI will consume is staggering.
“You think, ‘Oh, my God, this is going to be incredible,'” Gates explains. ChatGPT alone consumes more than every day 17.000 Mal as much electricity as an average US household.
The fear among tech executives is that AI’s energy demands will exceed the capabilities of clean sources. Wind and solar energy are unreliable because they are subject to weather fluctuations. Nuclear power plants take years to build, making them not a viable option when businesses need energy immediately.
“Technology is not going to wait seven to 10 years to build that infrastructure,” said Toby Rice, in an interview with the Journal. Rice is the CEO of natural gas producer EQT. “So all that’s left is natural gas.” At the conference, Rice explains, he heard two questions repeatedly: “How fast can you move? How much gas can we get?”
Read too
More than just chat GPT: These are Sam Altman’s plans for a gigantic AI empire
Nevertheless, many CEOs are pursuing the USA’s climate goals
The problem is even more urgent given that the Biden administration has set a goal of reducing carbon emissions. This occurs as a byproduct of burning coal and natural gas and exacerbates the climate crisis. Last April, Biden set the ambitious Goal. He wants to try to make the energy sector carbon neutral by 2035 and bring the US economy to net zero by 2050.
Some executives stressed that the dramatic growth of AI will not hinder the transition to clean energy. “We will be net zero by 2050. We continue to believe in that,” Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue said, the Journal reported. “But demand growth now makes things more complicated.”
Blue said his company is building at least one new natural gas plant to meet data center demand.
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation Tracking” link.
Agree and view external content
Read too
29 concrete AI prompts for new business ideas, market research and prototype creation