Editing Artificial intelligence (section)

====Power needs and environmental impacts====
{{See also|Environmental impacts of artificial intelligence}}
In January 2024, the [[International Energy Agency]] (IEA) released ''Electricity 2024, Analysis and Forecast to 2026'', forecasting electric power use.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-24 |title=Electricity 2024 – Analysis |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-2024 |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=IEA}}</ref> This is the first IEA report to make projections for data centers and power consumption for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. The report states that power demand for these uses might double by 2026, with additional electric power usage equal to electricity used by the whole Japanese nation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvert |first=Brian |date=28 March 2024 |title=AI already uses as much energy as a small country. It's only the beginning. |url=https://www.vox.com/climate/2024/3/28/24111721/ai-uses-a-lot-of-energy-experts-expect-it-to-double-in-just-a-few-years |website=Vox |location=New York, New York |access-date=5 October 2024 |archive-date=3 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703080555/https://www.vox.com/climate/2024/3/28/24111721/ai-uses-a-lot-of-energy-experts-expect-it-to-double-in-just-a-few-years |url-status=live }}</ref>

Prodigious power consumption by AI is responsible for the growth of fossil fuels use, and might delay closings of obsolete, carbon-emitting coal energy facilities. There is a feverish rise in the construction of data centers throughout the US, making large technology firms (e.g., Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon) into voracious consumers of electric power. Projected electric consumption is so immense that there is concern that it will be fulfilled no matter the source. A ChatGPT search involves the use of 10 times the electrical energy as a Google search. The large firms are in haste to find power sources – from nuclear energy to geothermal to fusion. The tech firms argue that – in the long view – AI will be eventually kinder to the environment, but they need the energy now. AI makes the power grid more efficient and "intelligent", will assist in the growth of nuclear power, and track overall carbon emissions, according to technology firms.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Halper |first1=Evan |last2=O'Donovan |first2=Caroline |date=21 June 2024 |title=AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/06/21/artificial-intelligence-nuclear-fusion-climate/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3e0d678%2F6675a2d2c2c05472dd9ec0f4%2F596c09009bbc0f20865036e7%2F12%2F52%2F6675a2d2c2c05472dd9ec0f4 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>

A 2024 [[Goldman Sachs]] Research Paper, ''AI Data Centers and the Coming US Power Demand Surge'', found "US power demand (is) likely to experience growth not seen in a generation...." and forecasts that, by 2030, US data centers will consume 8% of US power, as opposed to 3% in 2022, presaging growth for the electrical power generation industry by a variety of means.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davenport |first=Carly |title=AI Data Centers and the Coming YS Power Demand Surge |url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/generational-growth-ai-data-centers-and-the-coming-us-power-surge/report.pdf |website=Goldman Sachs |access-date=5 October 2024 |archive-date=26 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726080428/https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/generational-growth-ai-data-centers-and-the-coming-us-power-surge/report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Data centers' need for more and more electrical power is such that they might max out the electrical grid. The Big Tech companies counter that AI can be used to maximize the utilization of the grid by all.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Carol |date=12 April 2024 |title=Energy-Guzzling AI Is Also the Future of Energy Savings |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/ai-data-centers-energy-savings-d602296e |work=Wall Street Journal |publisher=Dow Jones}}</ref>

In 2024, the ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that big AI companies have begun negotiations with the US nuclear power providers to provide electricity to the data centers. In March 2024 Amazon purchased a Pennsylvania nuclear-powered data center for $650 Million (US).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hiller |first=Jennifer |date=1 July 2024 |title=Tech Industry Wants to Lock Up Nuclear Power for AI |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/tech-industry-wants-to-lock-up-nuclear-power-for-ai-6cb75316?mod=djem10point |work=Wall Street Journal |publisher=Dow Jones |access-date=5 October 2024 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005165650/https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/tech-industry-wants-to-lock-up-nuclear-power-for-ai-6cb75316?mod=djem10point |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nvidia]] CEO [[Jen-Hsun Huang]] said nuclear power is a good option for the data centers.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kendall |first1=Tyler |date=28 September 2024 |title=Nvidia's Huang Says Nuclear Power an Option to Feed Data Centers |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-27/nvidia-s-huang-says-nuclear-power-an-option-to-feed-data-centers |newspaper=Bloomberg}}</ref>

In September 2024, [[Microsoft]] announced an agreement with [[Constellation Energy]] to re-open the [[Three Mile Island]] nuclear power plant to provide Microsoft with 100% of all electric power produced by the plant for 20 years. Reopening the plant, which suffered a partial nuclear meltdown of its Unit 2 reactor in 1979, will require Constellation to get through strict regulatory processes which will include extensive safety scrutiny from the US [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]]. If approved (this will be the first ever US re-commissioning of a nuclear plant), over 835 megawatts of power – enough for 800,000 homes – of energy will be produced. The cost for re-opening and upgrading is estimated at $1.6 billion (US) and is dependent on tax breaks for nuclear power contained in the 2022 US [[Inflation Reduction Act]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Halper |first=Evan |date=20 September 2024 |title=Microsoft deal would reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/09/20/microsoft-three-mile-island-nuclear-constellation |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> The US government and the state of Michigan are investing almost $2 billion (US) to reopen the [[Palisades Nuclear Generating Station|Palisades Nuclear]] reactor on Lake Michigan. Closed since 2022, the plant is planned to be reopened in October 2025. The Three Mile Island facility will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center after Chris Crane, a nuclear proponent and former CEO of [[Exelon]] who was responsible for Exelon spinoff of Constellation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hiller |first=Jennifer |date=20 September 2024 |title=Three Mile Island's Nuclear Plant to Reopen, Help Power Microsoft's AI Centers |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/three-mile-islands-nuclear-plant-to-reopen-help-power-microsofts-ai-centers-aebfb3c8?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 |work=Wall Street Journal |publisher=Dow Jones |access-date=5 October 2024 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005170152/https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/three-mile-islands-nuclear-plant-to-reopen-help-power-microsofts-ai-centers-aebfb3c8?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the last approval in September 2023, [[Taiwan]] suspended the approval of data centers north of [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan]] with a capacity of more than 5 MW in 2024, due to power supply shortages.<ref name="DatacenterDynamics">{{Cite news |author=Niva Yadav |date=19 August 2024 |title=Taiwan to stop large data centers in the North, cites insufficient power |url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/taiwan-to-stop-large-data-centers-in-the-north-cites-insufficient-power/ |publisher=DatacenterDynamics |archive-date=8 November 2024 |access-date=7 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108213650/https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/taiwan-to-stop-large-data-centers-in-the-north-cites-insufficient-power/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Taiwan aims to [[Nuclear power phase-out|phase out nuclear power]] by 2025.<ref name="DatacenterDynamics" /> On the other hand, [[Singapore]] imposed a ban on the opening of data centers in 2019 due to electric power, but in 2022, lifted this ban.<ref name="DatacenterDynamics" />

Although most nuclear plants in Japan have been shut down after the 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear accident]], according to an October 2024 ''Bloomberg'' article in Japanese, cloud gaming services company Ubitus, in which Nvidia has a stake, is looking for land in Japan near nuclear power plant for a new data center for generative AI.<ref name=bloombergjp>{{Cite news |last1=Mochizuki |first1=Takashi |last2=Oda |first2=Shoko |date=18 October 2024 |title=エヌビディア出資の日本企業、原発近くでＡＩデータセンター新設検討 |url=https://www.bloomberg.co.jp/news/articles/2024-10-18/SLHGKKT0AFB400 |newspaper=Bloomberg |language=Japanese |archive-date=8 November 2024 |access-date=7 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108213843/https://www.bloomberg.co.jp/news/articles/2024-10-18/SLHGKKT0AFB400 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ubitus CEO Wesley Kuo said nuclear power plants are the most efficient, cheap and stable power for AI.<ref name=bloombergjp />

On 1 November 2024, the [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] (FERC) rejected an application submitted by [[Talen Energy]] for approval to supply some electricity from the nuclear power station [[Susquehanna Steam Electric Station|Susquehanna]] to Amazon's data center.<ref name="Bloomberg20241104">{{Cite news |author=Naureen S Malik and Will Wade |date=5 November 2024 |title=Nuclear-Hungry AI Campuses Need New Plan to Find Power Fast |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-04/nuclear-hungry-ai-campuses-need-new-strategy-to-find-power-fast |publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref> 
According to the Commission Chairman [[Willie L. Phillips]], it is a burden on the electricity grid as well as a significant cost shifting concern to households and other business sectors.<ref name="Bloomberg20241104" />

In 2025 a report prepared by the International Energy Agency estimated the [[greenhouse gas emissions]] from the energy consumption of AI at 180 million tons. By 2035, these emissions could rise to 300-500 million tonnes depending on what measures will be taken. This is below 1.5% of the energy sector emissions. The emissions reduction potential of AI was estimated at 5% of the energy sector emissions, but [[Rebound effect (conservation)|rebound effects]] (for example if people will pass from public transport to autonomous cars) can reduce it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Energy and AI Executive summary |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/executive-summary |website=International Energy Agency |access-date=10 April 2025}}</ref>