A crazy competition: AI Data Center Power Use is Same As 10,000 increasingly needy Homes
As utilities and tech companies struggle to provide electricity for tech centers, a new analysis shows that a data center in a city eats the same amount of energy as 10,000 homes with their air conditioners running. Utilities are racing to provide the extra power needed, but they can’t do much in many areas of the U.S.
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According to an analysis by Route Fifty, traditional energy providers have several tools, but they probably cannot get beyond a small dent in AI electricity needs. “First, utilities can develop a pricing mechanism that gives AI data centers an incentive to schedule their most power-intensive tasks during off-peak hours, when overall electricity demand is lower,” the report says. “This approach, known as demand response, smooths out the load profile, avoiding sudden spikes in electricity usage.” Data centers run flat out for 24 hours a day in most cases.
Energy competition
Another option is for utilities to create energy storage facilities. When demand is low, these can “bank” energy for higher use periods. Another option is for traditional utilities to use more solar and wind power, but while these forms of energy are gaining in parts of the country, they do not generate nearly enough power to handle AI needs.
Another point that rarely comes up in the direction of future electricity use is that traditional customers will need more as well. This is especially true in the hottest places in the U.S., and that need will rise with temperature.
Overall, utilities can’t provide enough electricity for data centers, and that fact becomes more worrisome each year.
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