Unprecedented Energy Demands
A report published in July (PDF) by the Department of Energy detailed the demand. It explained: “Connection requests for hyperscale facilities of 3001000MW or larger with lead times of 1-3 years are stretching the capacity of local grids to deliver and supply power at that pace.”
It adds: “The scale of the potential growth of both the electricity and the information technology sectors due to AI is extraordinary and represents the leading edge of projected electricity demand growth.”
Another report from the department, quoted by AP News, suggests that the demand for electricity to power data centers has tripled in the past ten years and could do the same by as early as 2028.
Biden is pushing now for infrastructure to be built so that the power networks and data centers can keep up with the projected AI demand. This order is a bid to keep AI innovation pushing ahead and ensure that the US is not dependent on other countries to support this growth.
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