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Granholm Confident in Quenching AI's Energy Thirst

 

 

August 12, 2024 - Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm wants you to know her agency is doing everything it can to prepare the country to meet rising demand from energy-guzzling AI data centers.

Why it matters: After years of flattish demand growth, the power sector is confronting a skyrocketing thirst for power.
  • Rising demand factored into an 800% increase in forward-looking capacity prices, PJM, the country's largest regional grid operator announced July 30.
  • AI-related power demand alone is projected to grow to 9% of US energy consumption by 2030, up from 4% in 2023, according to the Electric Power Research Institute.

Driving the news: The DOE today released an 11-page list of resources — including grant programs, financing options, technical assistance, workforce training, and research tools — that can help to build new utility-scale power and smooth out problems.

  • "We emphatically say at the Department of Energy that yes, yes we will" have enough energy for AI, Granholm told reporters Friday.

Federal officials already expected a doubling of electricity demand by 2050 to meet climate goals, Granholm pointed out.

  • This is because of a growth in electric vehicles, electrification of homes and other steps that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • That requires building the equivalent of 300 new Hoover Dams, she said.
  • The agency is "uniquely positioned to help America become what we hope will be — and what we know is right now — the global AI powerhouse," Granholm said.

The big picture: The DOE has been seeking to reassure utilities, Big Tech, and consumers that the agency can harness AI's unexpected and skyrocketing power needs.

  • It launched the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security and Technology (FASST) Initiative in July, positioning itself as a hub to research and find solutions to tackle emerging AI issues.

Yes, but: The FASST initiative still needs congressional authorization from bipartisan legislation introduced by Joe Manchin and Lisa Murkowski in July.

  • A Manchin press assistant on Friday had no updates on the legislation.
  • "Obviously, there's a lot more that will need to be done to get things over the finish line," said Helena Fu, director of DOE's Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies. "We think FASST is really what that next step will be for how we supercharge our existing efforts."

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