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consume 500 megawatts of power, will each need twenty-five percent of the output of the Hoover Dam to operate continuously on a daily basis. So, if we construct ten new AI data centers, we would need 2.5 new Hoover Dams. Currently, projections for new AI data centers run in the thousands. So, you can see there is a dramatic need for more power. Thousands of new data centers would require thousands of new Hoover Dams. Projecting the near-term energy requirements for AI, that is for the data centers that generate the computing capability necessary to support AI, let’ s start with the fact, as generally understood, existing data centers currently consume one-to-two percent of all global electricity and four percent of the total energy consumed in the United States. By 2030, that percentage is projected to grow to three-to-five percent of all electricity produced globally and 12-16 percent of all power consumed in the United States. Where will the energy to meet these new enormous energy requirements come from?
Currently, and for the foreseeable future, there are only a few discrete sources of power generation available. They are:( 1) gas and oil power plants with natural gas fired plants the predominate source;( 2) nuclear power plants;( 3) coal fired power plants; and( 4) renewable sources of power which are solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal but predominately solar due to the low efficiency and reliability of wind power. In 2024, natural gas supplied roughly 40-to-45 percent of the United States’ energy needs. Coal provided roughly 15 percent, and nuclear energy roughly 20 percent, while other renewables provided approximately another 20 percent, with hydro power accounting for roughly seven percent. However, the hydro energy component is essentially exhausted.
In terms of cost, while renewable energy costs are falling, there are critical issues with reliability since they depend on wind and sunlight and limited hydro capacity. Over the next decade, while a small portion of the new power demands may be met by renewables, they will not address the dramatic increase in energy demand.
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