For more than two decades, America has been embroiled in a debilitating partisan energy debate. Republicans shun renewable energy and support the fossil fuel industry, including efforts like the Northern Access Pipeline through Western New York, while Democrats fiercely criticize and defend fossil fuels. green energy technology.
The old partisan lines of this debate are already shifting. A growing number of Republicans are championing America's clean energy leadership, and some Democrats are resisting common sense to recognize the reforms needed to make it happen.
But the extreme power demands of artificial intelligence will completely change the way we discuss energy in this country.
AI demands a lot of power. It's hard to conceptualize how much power AI will require in just a few years.
NVIDIA, the world's largest manufacturer of AI hardware, plans to ship an estimated 1.5 million AI server units by 2027, according to a recently published peer-reviewed analysis.
When operated at full capacity, these servers consume 85.4 terawatt-hours of electricity per year. This is more electricity than the countries of Switzerland and Greece each consume in a year.
Of course, not all of these NVIDIA servers will end up operating in the United States.
But if the US continues to lead the AI race, a goal that President-elect Donald Trump will almost certainly pursue, it will consume a significant share of the AI chip and server market.
Although our country is blessed with abundant energy, excess capacity remains largely insufficient to meet the increased energy demand driven by AI.
It's not just AI. Cryptocurrencies and data centers could also double 2022 energy consumption levels by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency.
In addition, an increase in the number of electric vehicles will further increase the need for electricity generation.
All these realities mean that the traditional energy debate is completely moot.
Energy consumption in the United States has remained stable for decades. In a world where consumption is relatively predictable, conservatives could argue that the United States could become energy independent without investing in renewable energy by increasing domestic fossil fuel production.
This argument was not unreasonable (aside from environmental factors). By 2023, fossil fuels will be around 84% of domestic energy production — almost enough to cover America's entire energy consumption.
Progressives, on the other hand, justify that stable U.S. consumption means energy efficiency initiatives and investments in renewable energy that will allow the U.S. to transition away from fossil fuels in favor of carbon-free domestic fuel sources. may be claimed.
Governor Hochul's congestion tax may be an ineffective burden on the poorest New Yorkers, but no one can deny that real advances, such as improved fuel efficiency, are improving air quality and cities' livability.
In fact, they both debated the best way to fill up nearly identically sized fuel tanks, and both made good points.
But AI's energy demands mean the fuel tank needs to be even bigger. And we cannot afford to switch from one fuel to another.
Renewable technologies still cannot meet our current demands, and natural gas production capacity is woefully inadequate to generate the electricity we need.
Our only option is to use all energy sources at our disposal. In other words, all: Natural gas, solar, geothermal, hydropower, energy storage, nuclear power, you name it.
Aggressively expanding our capabilities on all fronts to meet AI's insatiable energy demands may seem like an impossible hike. But there is no other choice.
AI is more than just a fun technology that can tell jokes, edit essays, assist with research projects, and create lifelike videos. That will happen of It is a key national security technology of the 21st century, transforming everything from cybersecurity to intelligence gathering to autonomous weapons systems and more.
If we don’t win the AI race, China will. And we don't want to live in a world where communist China rules AI.
The partisan energy debate is over.
Given the energy demands of AI and the clear possibility that China will win this new technology race, we have only two options. Use all available energy sources or you lose.
Neil Chatterjee served as Chairman and Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
