Chinese artificial intelligence upstart DeepSeek proved crunching vast amounts of data need not guzzle so much energy. Elsewhere, GenAI is on a more energy — and capital — intensive track. But there are ways for the rest of the world to cut back too.
Data centres, the back-office workhorses for AI, data storage and the like, only sucked up some 1.5 per cent of total energy consumption last year, according to the International Energy Agency. But it projects that usage could more than double to 945 TWh by 2030 or, under one scenario, exceed Japan’s entire consumption.
Once popular co-location deals, where data centres tap in directly to their energy sources, are causing some watchdogs to fret about the knock-on effects on other users. Amazon is fighting to increase power at its data centre directly linked to a Talen Energy nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. There are also moves to switch from dirty sources of fuel to renewables and cleaner sources. Amazon and Google are among those investing in small modular nuclear reactors.