To put the forecasted demand into context, consider this: A recent MIT study found that a single data center consumes electricity equivalent to 50,000 homes. Estimates indicate that Microsoft, Amazon, and Google operate about 600 data centers in the U.S. today…
Arguments exist that by 2030, 80% of renewable power sources will fulfill electricity demand. For reference, the U.S. generated roughly 240 billion kilowatt hours of solar and 425 billion kilowatt hours of wind, totaling 665 billion kilowatt hours in 2023. Assuming a 50/50 split between wind and solar, that scenario implies that, to satisfy the U.S. electricity demand that adequately facilitates AI competitiveness, wind and solar will have to generate approximately 3.4 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity each. That is more than a ten-fold increase over the next five years. The EIA highlights that the U.S. planned utility-scale electric-generating capacity addition in 2023 included 29 million kilowatts of solar (54% of the total) and 6 million kilowatts of wind (11% of the total), which pales in comparison to the estimated amount required.
It just doesn’t get much more clear; renewables cannot begin to supply the energy needed for AI data centers. Only fossil fuels and nuclear can get the job done. It’s that simple. AI is not something global elites are going to let slide by. They’ve had a good run with the Big Green Grift but those days are going to gradually (maybe not so gradually) come to an end, as the demand for energy to power AI forces a reconsideration.
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