News/Energy
Tesla co-founder uses recycled EV batteries to power AI data centers
JB Straubel, Tesla's co-founder and former chief technology officer, is pioneering a new approach to powering AI data centers using recycled electric vehicle batteries through his company Redwood Materials. This innovative solution addresses the skyrocketing energy demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure while extending the useful life of EV batteries that still retain significant storage capacity. What you should know: Straubel founded Redwood Materials in 2017 with the original mission of creating a closed-loop battery recycling system for electric vehicles. The company has now expanded its focus to repurpose used EV batteries for grid-scale energy storage applications. These "second-life" batteries still...
read Aug 5, 2025Fermi America and Hyundai plan 11GW nuclear grid for AI expansion
Fermi America and Hyundai Engineering & Construction have signed a partnership to develop what they're calling the world's largest private electrical grid—an 11-gigawatt nuclear-powered energy hub designed specifically to meet the massive electricity demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The ambitious Texas-based project represents a significant bet on nuclear power as the solution to AI's growing energy crisis. As AI models become more sophisticated and data centers proliferate, the technology sector is consuming electricity at unprecedented rates, creating bottlenecks that threaten to slow AI development. This hybrid energy system combines nuclear reactors with natural gas, solar power, grid electricity, and battery...
read Aug 4, 2025Utilities partner with Google to reduce AI power during peak demand
Google has signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce power consumption at its AI data centers during peak demand periods, marking the tech giant's first formal participation in demand-response programs for machine learning workloads. The move addresses growing concerns about AI's massive energy requirements straining the electrical grid and potentially driving up costs for consumers while risking blackouts. What you should know: Google's partnerships with Indiana Michigan Power and Tennessee Power Authority represent the first time the company has formally agreed to scale back its AI operations to help stabilize the electrical grid. The agreements allow utilities to...
read Aug 1, 2025AI’s hungry self-checkout: Energy demands drive rising grocery prices
AI disruption is no longer confined to corporate boardrooms or tech companies—its ripple effects are now touching every aspect of daily life, including the rising cost of basic groceries like eggs. Data professional Christina Sandema-Sombe reveals how artificial intelligence's transformation of global business, workforce dynamics, and supply chains creates unexpected connections between high-tech automation and breakfast table economics. The big picture: AI is fundamentally reshaping global business operations by disrupting traditional outsourcing models, fragmenting regulatory landscapes, and forcing countries to choose between innovation leadership or economic irrelevance. Countries like India, Brazil, and Singapore are positioning themselves as AI innovation hubs...
read Jul 30, 2025Foxconn and TECO team up to build modular AI data centers
Foxconn and TECO Electric & Machinery have announced a strategic share-swap alliance to jointly develop modular AI data center infrastructure, combining Foxconn's AI server manufacturing expertise with TECO's electromechanical systems and green energy capabilities. The partnership positions both Taiwanese companies to compete more effectively in the rapidly growing global AI data center market, targeting key regions including Taiwan, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. The big picture: This alliance represents a significant consolidation in the AI infrastructure supply chain, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers increasingly demand comprehensive, turnkey data center solutions rather than piecemeal components. Key details:...
read Jul 29, 2025Sparsely populated Wyoming’s planned 10-gigawatt AI data center would double state’s power use
Cheyenne, Wyoming officials announced plans for a massive AI data center that would consume more electricity than all of the state's homes combined, with initial power demands of 1.8 gigawatts scaling to 10 gigawatts at full capacity. The project, a joint venture between energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, would fundamentally transform Wyoming from a net energy exporter to a major consumer, requiring dedicated power generation to meet its unprecedented electricity demands. The scale is staggering: The initial 1.8-gigawatt phase alone would consume 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually—more than five times the electricity used by every household...
read Jul 28, 2025Energy Department selects 4 sites to fast-track AI infrastructure
The US Department of Energy has selected four federal sites for a groundbreaking initiative to accelerate artificial intelligence infrastructure development across the country. This marks the first concrete step in a broader federal strategy to leverage government-owned land and existing energy resources for AI data center construction. The initiative addresses a critical bottleneck in AI development: the massive power and infrastructure requirements of modern data centers. Unlike traditional computing facilities, AI data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity—often requiring hundreds of megawatts of continuous power—while demanding ultra-reliable connections and specialized cooling systems. By opening federal sites with existing power infrastructure,...
read Jul 28, 2025Oracle partners with Bloom Energy to power AI data centers in 90 days
Oracle has partnered with Bloom Energy to deploy fuel cell systems across select Oracle Cloud Infrastructure data centers in the U.S., targeting the growing power demands of AI workloads. The collaboration offers Oracle a rapid deployment solution—fuel cells can power entire data centers within just 90 days—while providing clean, scalable electricity with minimal environmental impact and no water consumption. What you should know: Bloom Energy will supply on-site fuel cell systems designed to provide reliable, low-emission electricity for Oracle's expanding AI infrastructure needs.• The fuel cells deliver power with almost zero air pollution and no water consumption, aligning with Oracle's...
read Jul 24, 2025Microsoft’s $1.7B waste-to-carbon deal targets 4.9M tons over 12 years
Microsoft has entered a multi-year agreement with Vaulted Deep to inject human and animal waste underground as a carbon offset strategy, targeting 4.9 million metric tons of waste disposal over 12 years. This unconventional approach reflects the tech giant's urgent need to address the mounting carbon emissions from AI workloads and data centers, as traditional offset methods struggle to keep pace with the industry's environmental impact. What you should know: The waste-to-carbon-offset method involves converting organic material into slurry and pumping it more than 5,000 feet underground to prevent decomposition. Vaulted Deep reportedly charges around $350 per ton for carbon...
read Jul 24, 2025Colonial Pipeline CTO Afshean Talasaz shares AI decision framework for critical infrastructure
Colonial Pipeline's Chief Technology and Data Officer Afshean Talasaz has outlined a strategic framework for technology leadership that emphasizes adaptability, mission focus, and fundamental mastery in an era of accelerated AI adoption. His approach centers on making decisions that preserve future flexibility while maintaining operational excellence in critical infrastructure. This leadership philosophy offers valuable insights for executives navigating rapid technological change across industries, particularly as AI transforms business operations and decision-making processes. What you should know: Talasaz's decision-making framework prioritizes positioning, creating options, and maintaining focus on core mission objectives. He evaluates every decision by asking whether it could impact...
read Jul 24, 2025Supermicro ships 4,000 liquid-cooled AI racks, cuts energy costs 40%
Supermicro, a San Jose-based server manufacturer, is aggressively expanding its global operations to capitalize on surging demand for AI infrastructure, positioning itself as a key supplier in the race to build the computing backbone that powers artificial intelligence applications. The company has experienced substantial growth over the past two years as organizations worldwide scramble to deploy high-performance GPU systems—specialized computers designed to handle the intensive mathematical calculations required for AI training and inference. These systems teach AI models to recognize patterns and then apply that learning to make predictions or generate content. Speaking at the RAISE Summit 2025, Supermicro CEO...
read Jul 23, 2025Trump suspends environmental reviews to accelerate AI data center construction
Environmental advocates warned Wednesday that the AI data center boom is driving up electricity costs for consumers and increasing pollution, as the Trump administration unveiled executive orders to accelerate data center construction by suspending environmental reviews. The warnings came during an event organized by Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, as the White House released its "America's AI Action Plan," emphasizing the need to "Build, Baby, Build!" AI infrastructure without "radical climate dogma." What they're saying: Environmental attorneys highlighted how data centers are imposing costs on local communities without proper oversight. "Data centers are extremely power hungry and can put...
read Jul 23, 2025Trump suspends environmental reviews to speed AI data center construction
Environmental advocates warned Wednesday that AI data centers are driving up electricity costs for consumers and increasing pollution, as the Trump administration unveiled executive orders to accelerate data center construction by suspending environmental reviews. The concerns highlight a growing tension between AI infrastructure demands and environmental protection, with communities in states like Virginia, Tennessee, and Indiana already experiencing higher utility rates and air quality issues from the power-hungry facilities. What you should know: Data centers require massive amounts of electricity, forcing utilities to build new power plants and transmission lines whose costs are shared by all customers. In Virginia, which...
read Jul 22, 2025AI’s energy demand drives $29B in US utility rate hikes, elicits complaint from UN
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on major tech companies to transition to 100% sustainable energy to power their AI operations, warning that current energy demands could strain global capacity. The appeal comes as US utilities requested a record $29 billion in rate increases during the first half of 2025—double last year's level—largely driven by surging data center energy needs that are being passed on to customers. The big picture: AI's explosive growth is creating an energy crisis that's forcing difficult choices between technological advancement and environmental sustainability. Data center energy consumption is expected to double by 2030 to 945 terawatt-hours,...
read Jul 22, 2025OpenAI and Oracle expand Stargate AI project to 5+ gigawatts
OpenAI and Oracle announced they will develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, expanding their Stargate initiative that aims to maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The expansion brings the total Stargate project to over 5 gigawatts of capacity, running on more than 2 million chips, though OpenAI has not disclosed specific locations or funding details for the new facilities. What you should know: The Stargate initiative represents one of the largest AI infrastructure investments in U.S. history, originally announced as an up to $500 billion, 10-gigawatt project. The partnership includes SoftBank Group, a Japanese technology investor,...
read Jul 21, 2025Emerald AI raises $24.5M to cut data center power use by 25%
Emerald AI has raised $24.5 million in funding from high-profile investors including Nvidia, former climate envoy John Kerry, and Kleiner Perkins chair John Doerr to develop technology that makes data centers more flexible power consumers. The startup's platform allows grid managers to remotely reduce AI data center power consumption by up to 25% during peak demand periods without affecting AI performance, potentially transforming data centers from grid burdens into "grid allies." The big picture: Energy demand has emerged as the primary constraint limiting AI growth, with the Department of Energy predicting that U.S. data center electricity consumption could nearly triple...
read Jul 18, 2025AI datacenter spending reaches 2% of US GDP, making other parts of the economy jealous
Artificial intelligence datacenter spending has reached such extraordinary levels that it's fundamentally reshaping the American economy. The numbers are staggering: AI-related capital expenditures may represent roughly 2% of US GDP in 2025, contributing an estimated 0.7% to overall economic growth. To put this in perspective, this spending surge rivals the great infrastructure booms of the past—approaching the scale of 19th-century railroad construction while already surpassing the telecom frenzy of the dot-com era. This isn't just another tech trend. The sheer magnitude of AI datacenter investments is creating ripple effects across multiple sectors, redirecting capital away from traditional industries and potentially...
read Jul 17, 2025Google teams with Westinghouse on nuclear power plants for AI data centers
Westinghouse has partnered with Google AI Cloud to design a series of new nuclear reactors specifically engineered to power AI data centers and digital infrastructure. The collaboration leverages Westinghouse's proprietary AI models—Hive and Bertha—to create "repeatable" nuclear plant designs that can be scaled efficiently across the United States, addressing the massive energy demands of modern neural networks while supporting climate goals. What you should know: This partnership represents a strategic move to address the growing energy crisis facing AI infrastructure development. Westinghouse currently powers 56 reactors across the U.S., representing about 60% of the 94 operating reactors nationwide. The company's...
read Jul 16, 2025Energy constraints could derail AI progress, LessWrong analysis warns
A LessWrong user has raised concerns about whether energy constraints, particularly declining oil availability, could significantly delay or halt artificial intelligence development. The question highlights a potential vulnerability in AI progress that many forecasts may be overlooking—the massive energy requirements for data centers and the oil-dependent infrastructure needed to build and maintain them. The core argument: AI development depends heavily on energy-intensive data centers and oil-derived materials for construction and operation. Data centers require continuous power whether connected to electrical grids, small modular reactors, hydroelectric plants, or other energy sources. The construction of AI infrastructure relies on oil for mining...
read Jul 16, 2025GM’s used EV batteries will power grid storage as AI electricity demand triples by 2028
General Motors and Redwood Materials have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to repurpose both new and second-life GM EV batteries into energy storage systems for the US electrical grid. The collaboration addresses surging electricity demand from AI data centers, electrified transport, and industrial applications, with AI facilities alone expected to triple their share of US electricity use from 4.4% in 2023 to 12% by 2028. What you should know: This partnership leverages Redwood's new venture, Redwood Energy, which launched in June to transform EV battery packs into grid-scale energy storage solutions. GM's repurposed EV batteries are already powering the...
read Jul 16, 2025Meta boroughs into expansion plans with $100B+ AI spending on Manhattan-sized data centers
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on artificial intelligence development and construct a data center nearly the size of Manhattan. The massive investment positions Meta to compete aggressively in the race toward artificial general intelligence while leveraging its profitable advertising business to fund the ambitious AI expansion. What you should know: Meta is building multiple "titan clusters" of unprecedented scale to support its AI ambitions. The first multi-gigawatt data center, called Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026. A second facility, Hyperion, will scale up to 5 gigawatts over the coming...
read Jul 16, 2025Trump promotes fossil fuels for AI future at $92B Pittsburgh summit
President Donald Trump joined energy executives and tech leaders at a Pittsburgh summit to promote fossil fuels as the primary power source for AI expansion, with companies announcing $92 billion in energy and AI investments. The event strategically positioned natural gas as essential for meeting AI's projected energy demands, potentially revitalizing a struggling industry facing supply gluts and market headwinds. What you should know: The Energy and Innovation Summit brought together an unlikely coalition of Trump administration officials, Big Tech executives, and fossil fuel leaders to advance a pro-natural gas agenda for AI infrastructure. Trump acknowledged that AI is "not...
read Jul 16, 2025Westinghouse plans to build 10 nuclear reactors by 2030
Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in the U.S., with construction beginning by 2030, interim CEO Dan Sumner announced to President Trump during a Pittsburgh roundtable. The ambitious project would generate $75 billion in economic value nationwide and $6 billion specifically for Pennsylvania, marking a significant expansion of nuclear power infrastructure amid Trump's push to quadruple U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050. What you should know: Each AP1000 reactor generates enough electricity to power more than 750,000 homes, representing substantial clean energy capacity. The announcement came during a conference on energy and artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon University, where...
read Jul 15, 2025Trump announces $90B AI investment push led by Google’s $25B commitment
President Donald Trump announced more than $90 billion in AI and energy investments at Pennsylvania's inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit on Tuesday, with Google leading the commitments through a $25 billion data center and AI infrastructure investment. The announcement positions Pennsylvania as a major AI hub while aligning with Trump's broader energy agenda in a key gas-producing state. The big picture: The investments represent a significant push to establish Pennsylvania as a central location for AI infrastructure development, combining the state's energy resources with cutting-edge technology investments. Key commitments: Google is making the largest financial commitment with multiple billion-dollar investments....
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