Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How the surging demand for energy and rise of AI is straining the power grid in the U.S.
CBS News ^ | July 19, 2024 | Ben Tracy

Posted on 07/19/2024 10:07:13 AM PDT by McGruff

The surging demand for energy in the U.S. is growing significantly for the first time in decades. Experts say it is forecast to hit record highs both this year and next year — creating more planet-warming emissions.

Part of the demand is due to an increasing number of data centers across the country, along with the rise of artificial intelligence.

The nation's roughly 2,700 data centers are mostly run by big tech firms like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Apple, and consumed more than 4% of all electricity in the U.S. in 2022. It's projected to more than double to 9% by 2030, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, a research organization and nonprofit focused on energy. It is not affiliated with any companies or type of technology.

But it's already taxing the U.S.' aging power grid, and the demands of AI are just beginning to grow. A ChatGPT query, for example, uses nearly 10 times the electricity of a typical internet search.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-24 last
To: McGruff

You don’t think letting in 13 million illegal aliens wouldn’t have anything to do with it, do you?


21 posted on 07/20/2024 1:24:31 AM PDT by jmacusa (Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blackdog

Someone might explain to me why we need EVs or AI when the power grid will hardly handle what we’ve got. Where I live (small town) we have more & more short term power blackouts with no explanations as a rule. I have to wonder if the grid is going down because someone thinks they need power elsewhere for EVs or whatever. Sorry, I don’t accept that as a reasonable excuse( we have only a very few EVs here) for cutting off my power. Some stuff in my house has to be reset & I was here before EVs & AI. Hard to say what this does to any electric motors that have to restart automatically. Is the power company going to replace these when the time comes along with accompanying expenses? This would be mainly a refririgerator, deep freeze, & A/C unit. Multiply those numbers for that equipment by the number of units affected & it would be sizeable.


22 posted on 07/20/2024 7:03:59 AM PDT by oldtech
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: oldtech

I might add that we had a power disruption last winter here that was quite noticeable in it’s length. It was cold & if you were most folks, that meant no heat. As I recall, it lasted several hours. Did we get a reduced rate that month for the considerable inconvenience? Yeah, sure. You bet.


23 posted on 07/20/2024 8:08:12 AM PDT by oldtech
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: oldtech

There is political action, and there is the right thing to do, action. Engineering only works with the second of the two. If you choose the first, things go to $hit rather quickly.


24 posted on 07/20/2024 11:52:53 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-24 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson