Data centers with artificial intelligence and cloud computing are pushing energy demand and production to latest limits. According to the US Department of Energy, global electricity consumption could rise by as much as 75% by 2050, with much of the rise driven by the tech industry's AI ambitions.
Data centers that power AI and cloud computing could soon grow so large that they eat more electricity than entire cities.
As the frontrunners within the AI competition push for further technological advances and deployment, many are finding that their energy needs are increasingly at odds with their sustainability goals.
“A new data center that requires the same amount of power as, say, Chicago can't easily solve the problem if it doesn't understand its power needs,” said Mark Nelson, managing director of Radiant Energy Group. “This demand for electricity. Continuous, non-stop, 100% power, 24 hours a day, 365 hours,” he added.
After years of specializing in renewable energy, major technology firms are actually turning to nuclear energy due to its ability to offer large amounts of energy in a more efficient and sustainable manner.
Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are among the many best-known names researching or investing in nuclear power projects. Driven by the energy demands of their data centers and AI models, their announcements mark the beginning of an industry-wide trend.
“What we see is that nuclear power has a lot of benefits,” said Michael Terrell, senior director of energy and climate at Google. “It is a carbon-free source of electricity. It is a power source that can be turned on and operating at any time. And it offers huge economic impact.”
After nuclear power was largely written off prior to now as a result of widespread fears of meltdowns and safety risks – and misinformation that dramatized those concerns – experts are hailing recent investments within the tech industry as the beginning of a “nuclear power revival” that may spark an energy transition within the USA could speed up and world wide.
Watch the video Above, learn why Big Tech is investing in nuclear energy, what resistance they face, and when their nuclear ambitions might actually turn out to be a reality.
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