How Data Centers Can Support Energy Resiliency While Managing AI Demand - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

"As the rapid rise of artificial intelligence transforms industries, it's straining the energy-hungry data centers that power it. These facilities, essential to running complex AI models and digital services, face mounting pressure as electricity demand surges. This demand raises urgent questions about sustainability, grid reliability, and the viability of future growth. Interconnection queues for new projects can stretch to seven years in high-density areas like Northern Virginia, driving data center operators to look for other options. The intersection of AI-driven"

"poses a complex challenge, but emerging solutions could help data centers ease the strain on the grid and even actively contribute to its stability. The AI Data Center LandscapeData centers account for approximately 4.4% of total U.S. electricity consumption, a figure projected to rise to as much as 12% by 2028. These facilities don't just power AI training-they also facilitate AI inference processes that make tools like"

"ChatGPT or recommendation algorithms functional. Many data centers are clustered geographically in regions like Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley, and Dallas-Fort Worth, exacerbating pressure on local grids. Dominion Energy has warned that Northern Virginia's demand will grow by 5.5% annually and will double by 2039, with billions of dollars in infrastructure investment required to accommodate this growth. And because end-use energy efficiency is paramount, the rising demand requires the production of far more renewable energy to decrease reliance on fossil-fueled electricity."

AI expansion is rapidly increasing electricity demand from data centers, which currently consume about 4.4% of U.S. power and could reach 12% by 2028. Data centers host both AI training and inference workloads, intensifying local grid stress where facilities cluster in Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Interconnection queues can extend up to seven years in dense markets, and utilities forecast double-digit growth that will require billions in infrastructure investment. Reducing reliance on fossil-fueled electricity will require far more renewable generation, major technology investments, and selective changes to utility business models to preserve reliability and enable continued AI growth.

Read at Harvard Business Review