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Energy needed for AI, crypto could power about a third of the US in coming years

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For nearly three decades, the demand for electricity in the United States has remained relatively stable. However, forecasts indicate a dramatic shift, with projections suggesting a potential near doubling of where demand was expected to be over the next five years.

The driving force behind this unprecedented increase in demand largely stems from the proliferation of data centers and the emerging technologies they support, such as the mining of cryptocurrency and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

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According to the International Energy Agency, the U.S. is expected to see power demand from data centers double over the next two years, with a projected tripling by 2030. This trajectory could equate the energy consumption of data centers to that required to power 40 million homes.

The exponential growth of AI applications further exacerbates the situation, with projections indicating that this technology alone could consume as much power as the entire country of the Netherlands by 2027. This rapid expansion of energy-intensive technologies is outpacing the capacity of the existing power infrastructure, raising concerns about the sustainability of the nation’s energy resources.

Estimates suggest that meeting the anticipated surge in electricity consumption could necessitate the equivalent of constructing 40 new nuclear power plants — something the nation will need to make progress toward quickly. The North American Energy Reliability Council warned that as many as 13 of the continent’s 20 power systems are at risk of experiencing energy shortfalls as early as this summer.

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[JACK AYLMER]

FOR ROUGHLY 30 YEARS – ELECTRICITY DEMAND IN THE U.S. HASN’T CHANGED MUCH.

BUT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS – DEMAND COULD DOUBLE – AND IN TEN – TRIPLE. 

IT’S PUTTING AMERICA ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH A MAJOR PROBLEM.

AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO ADDRESS THE GROWING ISSUE.

RACK AFTER RACK OF THESE.

DATA CENTERS.

THE U.S. HAS LONG BEEN ENERGY HUNGRY – BUT IN THE PAST – WE BUILT UP CAPACITY TO HANDLE BIG JUMPS IN ELECTRIC USAGE.

THAT KINDA WENT OUT THE WINDOW IN RECENT YEARS. 

FROM THE MINING OF CRYPTO CURRENCY TO THE EVEN MORE RECENT RISE OF AI. 

WE’RE SEEING A HUGE SPIKE IN DEMAND ALL AT ONCE. 

AI APPLICATIONS ON THEIR OWN COULD USE AS MUCH POWER AS THE NETHERLANDS BY 2027.

IN THE U.S. – POWER DEMAND FROM DATA CENTERS IS EXPECTED  TO DOUBLE OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS – ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY.

AND BY 2030, IT’S LIKELY TO TRIPLE.

PUTTING THE DRAIN FROM DATA CENTERS ON PAR WITH WHAT’S REQUIRED TO POWER 40 MILLION HOMES.

WITH MORE OF THESE POWER HUNGRY SERVER FARMS POPPING UP EVERY DAY – WE’RE CURRENTLY GROWING AT AN UNSUSTAINABLE RATE.

THINK OF OUR COUNTRY’S DEMAND FOR POWER – LIKE CARS ON A HIGHWAY.

THE ROAD IS BUILT TO HANDLE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC – BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF SAY, AN AMUSEMENT PARK OPENS NEARBY? 

THE NUMBER OF CARS TRAVELING SUDDENLY INCREASES AND TRAFFIC JAMS START.

WELL, CONSIDER AI AND CRYPTO THE ATTRACTIONS AT OUR DATA CENTER AMUSEMENT PARK. 

THE U.S. GRID WASN’T BUILT TO HANDLE THE SHEER AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC, OR IN THIS CASE, ELECTRICITY NEEDED.

ELECTRIC GRID OPERATORS ARE ALREADY WARNING UNPRECEDENTED DATA CENTER LOAD GROWTH IS GOING TO PUSH THEM TO THE LIMIT.

SIMPLY PUT: THE U.S. IS GOING TO NEED A LOT MORE POWER.

ON PAR WITH BUILDING 40 NEW NUCLEAR PANTS – THAT MUCH MORE POWER. 

AND SOON.

THE NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY RELIABILITY COUNCIL PREDICTS THAT 13 OF 20 POWER SYSTEMS ARE AT RISK OF AN ENERGY SHORTFALL BY AS EARLY AS THIS SUMMER.