Artificial intelligence's massive demand for electricity could reportedly make tech executives look to fossil fuel to help power the ongoing AI boom as clean energy remains limited.
While IT executives have long proclaimed their dedication to a future powered by green energy, AI is creating a significant new need for electricity that provides a challenging route forward.
The Wall Street Journal said that the exact amount of electricity needed to power the exponential growth of data centers around the world is unknown.
However, the majority of people concurred that the massive power requirements of the data centers required to advance AI could strain the electrical grid and impede the switch to greener energy sources.
(Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)TOPSHOT - Google Vice President Majd Bakar speaks on-stage during the annual Game Developers Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California on March 19, 2019.
According to Amazon Web Services vice president of engineering Bill Vass, a new data center is added globally every three days. Bill Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft, stated during the conference that electricity is the most important factor in determining a data center's profitability and that artificial intelligence will need an astounding amount of power.
Tech executives are worried that AI would require more energy than clean sources can provide. Because wind and solar electricity depend on weather fluctuations, they are unreliable. Although they take years to construct, nuclear reactors are not a practical choice for businesses that require power right away.
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AI Could be Fossil Fueled
The issue is that businesses reportedly want to include clean power sources in addition to new ones. Numerous utilities and IT corporations have committed to significantly lowering their carbon footprints.
Utilities and IT businesses are debating whether more fossil fuels are required to meet demand as a result. Tech companies constructing data centers are asking about purchasing gas from EQT, according to Toby Rice, CEO of the massive American natural gas producer EQT.
Tech firms, in Rice's opinion, require consistent power, which weather-dependent renewable sources like solar and wind power can't always supply. Furthermore, building large-scale nuclear reactors has always been costly and time-consuming; currently, the United States is only building one.
AI Data Center Restrictions
Many nations also impose restrictions on AI data centers generally. According to reports, China, Singapore, and Ireland are among the nations that have lately imposed restrictions on the construction of new data centers to comply with stricter environmental regulations.
Regulations in Germany and Loudoun County, Virginia, USA, have also put restrictions on permits for data centers that are close to residential areas or require them to recycle the waste heat they generate and input renewable energy into the grid.
Depending on how swiftly technology develops, data center electricity consumption, including those related to cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence will exceed 1,050TWh by 2026. That increase is the same as increasing the electrical requirements of one more nation, Sweden in a more modest scenario, or at most Germany.
The United States currently reportedly holds the record for the most data centers worldwide, accounting for 33% of the estimated 8,000 total.
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(Photo : Tech Times)
