AI, Energy, and the Road Ahead: Why We Need More Solar and Wind (and Fast)
Artificial Intelligence is a growing part of our daily lives. While the use of obviously AI-driven services like ChatGPT is increasing, it is also being utilized in search engines, social media content creation and distribution, customer service support, and is even beginning to influence the policies and decisions our leaders are making. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are pushing for more AI, and the public is adopting it faster than any regulation can keep up. And it’s not just large organizations trying to cut costs that are using it. Small nonprofits and grassroots groups are leveraging AI to enhance their operational capacity, such as applying for funding or updating their websites. Even if you question how far technology should advance, few will deny that increased AI use is inevitable and will change everything, including how we work, communicate, and interact with one another.
As it weaves its way into more corners of our lives, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: it requires power. A lot of it.
AI is run by data centers, which are massive warehouses filled with servers that operate continuously. These facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity, and that energy must come from somewhere. While many companies claim renewables power them, every megawatt used to run a data center is a megawatt that isn’t being used to decarbonize homes, schools, or community infrastructure. Development is not keeping pace, and we will need even more renewable energy than initially anticipated to meet our exponentially increasing demands. Otherwise, we will revert to relying more and more on fossil fuels, which are both dwindling and exacerbating climate change. As a side note, data centers that are controversially sited have drawn rightful concern and condemnation from residents, such as the proposed data center at the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP), which is immediately adjacent to the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and four different wildlife management areas in Genesee County. While this newsletter focuses on meeting our collective energy demands, it is worth noting that data centers can harm the health and well-being of communities and the environment. Any development should consider both community input and environmental impacts.
New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), a nonprofit that manages the transmission of energy across New York State and provides forecasts to help plan grid improvements, estimates that energy demand will increase by 50-90% over our current generating capacity within the next two decades, mainly due to the energy use of data centers and NYSDEC’s decision to shut down natural gas plants to meet Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) standards. There are efforts underway to build nuclear power plants to offset this deficit, but citing and building one takes over 10 years. And they are incredibly unpopular with locals. New York State communities are already experiencing brownouts due to surging energy demand, and this trend is expected to worsen. Where we invest our time and energy over the next 10 years is crucial.
This means that we have a responsibility to advocate for responsible wind and solar energy with battery storage now, before our technology development and energy use completely outpace production. This also means working with municipalities to proactively educate the public, identify mutually beneficial agreements for communities and developers, and ensure renewable energy generation that provides a net benefit to people and the environment of New York State. Most importantly, it means holding leaders accountable for their promises regarding renewable energy policies and goals and prioritizing the improvement of grid capacity before building more data centers so that they are genuinely being run on renewable energy.
When considering AI, we can choose to ignore it, embrace it, or acknowledge that technological progress is inevitable and thoughtfully plan our approach to moving forward. Like how the automobile led to unprecedented and unanticipated changes in all aspects of life, we are facing one of the most significant catalysts for change in human history. We can also design a future that considers the well-being of both humans and nature as we make this transition. We must act quickly (but responsibly) to curtail our reliance on energy production that will have long-lasting negative impacts on our communities.
This story is told by Shawn Grasby and written by Anna Purpera.
