Big Tech adopts nuclear power for AI energy needs #innovation

The generative artificial intelligence boom has created a huge demand for electricity, prompting tech companies to turn to nuclear power to meet this need. A third of nuclear power plants in the U.S. are in talks with tech companies to supply electricity for data centers powering AI models. Amazon Web Services is reportedly close to a deal with Constellation Energy for electricity. Amazon previously purchased a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy for $650 million. As AI models grow larger and more powerful, the energy demand could slow down the development of AI. Data centers currently consume 2% of global energy, and this could increase to a quarter of all power use in the U.S. by the end of the decade. By 2030, data centers could consume up to 9% of electricity in the U.S., according to the Electric Power Research Institute. To address the energy consumption issue, startups like Exowatt are developing modules that store energy as heat and produce electricity for AI data centers. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is among the investors in Exowatt, which recently raised $20 million in funding.

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Source link: https://qz.com/big-tech-nuclear-power-plants-ai-energy-electricity-1851569796