Data centers are experiencing rapidly increasing energy demands driven by AI growth, with estimates predicting a fivefold increase in power consumption by 2035. Warnings from environmental nonprofits emphasize potential overinflation of future demand forecasts. The Southern Environmental Law Center commissioned analysis to assess uncertainties in electricity demand, indicating possible overcounting due to duplicated connections for facilities. A critical concern includes insufficient chip availability for the anticipated AI datacenter expansion, which could render excess energy capacity unnecessary if these projects fail to materialize.
A recent report by Deloitte Insights estimated that the total power required by bit barns in the US will increase by a factor of five by 2035.
LEI found a lot of uncertainties in forecasting future electricity demand from datacenters, and a resulting bias toward overstating that demand.
The real clincher? There may not be enough chips available to support the massive AI buildout forecasts in the first place.
The authors claim that if all the datacenter projects forecast for the US between 2025 and 2030 were to go ahead, it would require 90 percent of all the growth in the global AI chip supply for the same period.
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