In California, data center construction is leveraging a regulatory shortcut designed for emergency power plants to validate diesel generators providing backup energy. Since 2017, over 1 gigawatt of diesel power has been approved, enough for nearly 162,000 households. As AI accelerates energy demands, tech companies pushed for an expansion of the Small Power Plant Exemption. Despite the failure of this campaign, it highlights the growing strain on energy resources, as the state's data centers now demand massive electrical capacities, outpacing public awareness and regulatory scrutiny.
With artificial intelligence pushing energy demands ever higher, a business group representing tech companies last year lobbied the state Legislature to expand the Small Power Plant Exemption.
More than 1 gigawatt of diesel-based energy-enough to power at least 161,969 households for a year-has been approved as emergency power for California data centers since 2017.
Annual global demand for data center capacity could grow from 60 to 219 gigawatts-enough to power more than 35 million homes-by 2030, according to an analysis from McKinsey.
However, despite the increase in energy needs, local communities remain largely uninformed and uninvolved in the decision-making processes surrounding data center operations.
#data-centers #energy-consumption #california-regulations #environmental-impact #artificial-intelligence
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