AI's Insatiable Appetite: Utilities Scramble to Power Ravenous Data Centers
Summary
Artificial intelligence's soaring energy needs from data centers are straining power grids, prompting utilities to rapidly build new gas and nuclear plants while regulators grapple with questions over subsidies and generation pathways to meet AI's insatiable electricity appetite.
Key Points
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving massive electricity demand from data centers, forcing utilities and regulators to rewrite rules for grid access
- Energy developers are racing to build new gas-fired power plants and revive old nuclear plants to meet AI's voracious energy needs
- Regulators face questions over who benefits and who pays for AI's energy demands, with concerns over subsidies and long-term contracts locking in certain generation pathways