AI Is Already Wreaking Havoc on Global Power Systems

[littlemissmartypants]

Note: This article is slightly more than six months old.

AI Is Already Wreaking Havoc on Global Power Systems
Technology | The Big Take

June 21, 2024

The energy supply can’t come soon enough for DataBank, the data center provider that owns the Virginia facility. An unnamed "big tech" client leased the entire facility and was so eager to tap into the complex to access computing resources for AI applications that it had servers ready in the building before DataBank was scheduled to have electricity for them.

“That’s the thing with AI. They need a lot of power and as soon as you have it, they want it right away,” said James Mathes, who manages some DataBank facilities. “Right now, it’s like a blank check for AI."

The almost overnight surge in electricity demand from data centers is now outstripping the available power supply in many parts of the world, according to interviews with data center operators, energy providers and tech executives. That dynamic is leading to years-long waits for businesses to access the grid as well as growing concerns of outages and price increases for those living in the densest data center markets.

The dramatic increase in power demands from Silicon Valley’s growth-at-all-costs approach to AI also threatens to upend the energy transition plans of entire nations and the clean energy goals of trillion-dollar tech companies. In some countries, including Saudi Arabia, Ireland and Malaysia, the energy required to run all the data centers they plan to build at full capacity exceeds the available supply of renewable energy, according to a Bloomberg analysis of the latest available data.
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Original link:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-ai-data-centers-power-grids/

Archive:
https://archive.ph/b1UuM

❤️pants

[Irish_Dem]

1. AI is like the billionaires, they suck up all the resources from the people.

Leave us with very little.

[LisaM]

2. I don't know why this isn't a bigger story.

There are crazy amounts of energy needed for Bitcoin, too.

I think a lot of people are being hypocritical about a few existential things.

1) claim to care about the environment, but use AI and support Bitcoin.

2) claim to care about the housing shortage but book Airbnb and VRBO.

3) claim to support a larger minimum wage, but use gig economy services.

The list goes on, but you get my drift. Turning back to the energy needed for AI, this should be front and center for those who are ostensibly worried about the environment.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. I completely agree! Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. ❤️

[CoopersDad]

4. K/R I attended two energy-related conferences this past year:

I attended two energy-related conferences this past year:

The Oracle Center was the venue for the Sustainable Growth Summit, where the challenge of meeting increasing energy and water demands while simultaneously defending these as "sustainable" was the day's topic.

https://www.svlg.org/silicon-valley-leadership-groups-first-annual-sustainable-growth-summit-driving-innovation-for-a-sustainable-future/

Then, last month I attended the PG&E Innovation Summit 2024, Presented by DISTRIBUTECH®, at the Signia by Hilton San Jose, where Patti Poppe, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and leaders in the applied AI sector discussed how AI would be essential in meeting a spectrum of challenges in the energy and environment sectors, many of which are created by AI.

https://web.cvent.com/event/d0a7c83a-dfb3-46fe-9be5-617b1463173d/summary

Some takeaways:

San Jose plans to build a data center integrated with new housing development.
The power for data centers eventually becomes heat-- the heat can be captured and used for domestic water heating and space heating, thus displacing the need for gas or electricity for those purposes.
It's not a cure, but it moves in the right direction.

Some additional resources:
https://www.iea.org/commentaries/what-the-data-centre-and-ai-boom-could-mean-for-the-energy-sector
https://www.energy.gov/policy/articles/clean-energy-resources-meet-data-center-electricity-demand
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/global-data-center-electricity-use-to-double-by-2026-report/