Already a subscriber?More than just a portend of a dystopian future, short-term equity play and/or productivity enhancer, AI also consumes large amounts of electricity and is already changing the energy transition discussion.
The US experience is instructive, where utilities are playing catch-up having underestimated AI’s electricity demand. This was a major point of discussion at the recent CERA Energy Week in Houston. of a nuclear-powered data centre for $US650 million is viewed as part of a growing trend among US utilities and energy users actively considering new nuclear projects. The same is occurring in Europe.does not mention AI, the additional demand it will create, or how it will affect power system designs.Instead, AEMO focused on projected demand from electric vehicles and hydrogen production.
In the next few years, data centres will consume more than Australia’s largest baseload power station – NSW’s 2600-megawatt Eraring.And with the need for this additional 24/7 power, Australia’s challenge is that it comes at a time when the AEMO estimates 62 per cent of the National Electricity Market’s coal fleet – Australia’s main 24/7 power source – is expected to close by 2033.
This is already occurring in Victoria where commercial-in-confidence deals with Energy Australia – the owner of the 1500-megawatt Yallourn power station – and AGL, which owns the 2200-megawatt Loy Yang power station, are being used to delay their exits.Meanwhile, renewable energy and storage replacements cannot be built quickly enough. And new dispatchable power sources, irrespective of technology, will take years to build.