Data centers powering artificial intelligence and cloud computing are pushing energy demand and production to new limits. Global electricity consumption could increase by up to 75% by 2050, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The ambitions of AI responsible for much of the increase.
Data centers powering AI and cloud computing could soon become so big that they could consume more electricity than entire cities.
As leaders in the AI race strive to advance and deploy more technologies, many are finding that their energy needs are increasingly at odds with their sustainability goals.
“A new data center that needs the same amount of electricity as Chicago, for example, can’t get out of the problem without understanding its power needs,” said Mark Nelson, chief executive of Radiant Energy Group. “These energy requirements. Stable, direct, 100% power, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” he added.
After years of focusing on renewable energy, major technology companies are now turning to nuclear power for its ability to deliver massive energy more efficiently and sustainably.
Google, Amazon, Microsoft And Meta are among the most recognizable names exploring or investing in nuclear power projects. Driven by the energy demand of their data centers and AI models, their announcements mark the start of an industry-wide trend.
“What we’re seeing is that there are a lot of benefits to nuclear power,” said Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director of energy and climate. “It’s a carbon-free source of electricity. It’s a source of electricity that can be always on and running at all times. And it has a huge economic impact.”
After nuclear power was largely abandoned in the past due to widespread fears about mergers and security risks – and misinformation that dramatized those concerns – experts are touting recent investments in the technology as the start of a “nuclear renaissance”“which could accelerate a energy transformation in the United States and around the world.
Watch the video above to find out why Big Tech is investing in nuclear power, the opposition they face and when their nuclear ambitions might actually become a reality.
