Can the US Power Industry Meet AI’s Steep Energy Demands?
Thanks to AI, data centers are popping up across the country. But the climate price for all this energy use is steep.
The shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 16.
Photographer: Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg
Delivering power to homes and companies is supposed to be a boring and predictable business. While it’s true that the US population has been increasing and electrifying more things as it does, that growth in power use has been offset by energy savings as buildings, factories and appliances become more efficient. Indeed, electricity consumption in the US has changed little since the start of the 21st century. Until now.
Suddenly, America needs more juice—for factories and homes, electric vehicles and heating, and especially data centers and artificial intelligence. The surge in power demand is unlike anything utilities have seen in decades, perhaps not since World War II. That’s going to complicate the country’s already bumpy shift to clean energy, and Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House promises to shake up the transition even more. By all accounts, the industry isn’t ready. “The impact of AI on the power grid came on fast,” says Timothy Fox, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners. “We’re seeing load-growth projections that are unprecedented.”