Energy Alternatives Sought for Soaring AI Power Use Demand

AgTech: Satellite-based crop growth monitoring system

For the first time in history: mini-halo found 10 billion years ago

With the development of the technological age came the strategy of capturing information, the new representation of exclusive power and wealth. That pillar has further developed into a more robust representation in the artificial intelligence (AI) movement. Today, the current grouping of large language models needs a critical increase in computing power and energy than when AI first entered the market. Responding to those demands, tech leaders and wildcatters of their own rite are moving to speed up the energy transition with an enhanced focus on nuclear energy.

Big Tech companies support the advancement of net zero goals, with Meta and Google planning to achieve net zero emissions across the board by 2030. Microsoft plans to take things further by achieving a carbon-negative platform, water-positive, and zero waste by 2030 as well. Amazon is looking to achieve similar goals by 2040.

However, as the big-name players advance AI technology, they have signed deals with nuclear power suppliers. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are all exploring nuclear energy possibilities.

“Energy, not compute, will be the No. 1 bottleneck to AI progress,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on a podcast in April.

Meta built the open-source large language model Llama and consumed large quantities of energy and water to power its AI solutions. Nvidia, a chip-designing firm whose popularity has significantly increased, is ramping up its efforts to utilize energy more efficiently. Its latest chip, Blackwell, was made public in March and boasts being twice as fast as its predecessor, Hopper. As a result, gains in energy efficiency have been seen.

Although advancements are evident, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang points to allocating substantial energy to AI development as a monumental game that will take time and not be achieved in the short term. As AI grows in its intelligence capacity, the rewards will only heighten.

“The goal of AI is not for training. The goal of AI is inference,” said Huang at a seminar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology last week. “Inference is incredibly efficient and can discover new ways to store carbon dioxide in reservoirs. Maybe it could discover new wind turbine designs, maybe it could discover new materials for storing electricity, maybe more materials for solar panels. We should use AI in so many different areas to save energy.”

With society’s growing demand for energy solutions, many tech leaders see nuclear energy as a viable solution. Because the need is so great, many forms of alternative energy lack the ability to accommodate AI power needs.

“There’s no way to get there without a breakthrough,” said Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, at the Wood Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

Altman has long supported a nuclear solution. He invested $375 million in Helion Energy, a nuclear fusion company, and holds a 2.6 percent stake in Oklo, a company focused on developing modular nuclear fission reactors. Still, the clean energy investment sector identifies the critical need for government support in advancing nuclear at a domestic level.

“The growing demand for AI, especially at the inference layer, will dramatically reshape how power is consumed in the U.S.,” said Cameron Porter, general partner at Steel Atlas and Transmutex investor, in an email sent to Business Insider. “However, it will only further net-zero goals if we can solve two key regulatory bottlenecks—faster nuclear licensing and access to grid connections—and address the two key challenges for nuclear power: high-level radioactive waste and fuel sourcing.”

With President-elect Trump preparing to initiate his second term, Porter expects progress in developing nuclear energy solutions.

“Despite these challenges, we expect the regulatory issues to be resolved because, ultimately, AI is a matter of national security,” Porter added in his email.

Author Profile

Nick Vaccaro

Freelance Writer and Photographer

Nick Vaccaro is a freelance writer and photographer. In addition to providing technical writing services, he is an HSE consultant in the oil and gas industry with twelve years of experience. Vaccaro also contributes to SHALE Oil and Gas Business Magazine, American Oil and Gas Investor, Oil and Gas Investor, Energies Magazine and Louisiana Sportsman Magazine. He has a BA in photojournalism from Loyola University and resides in the New Orleans area. Vaccaro can be reached at 985-966-0957 or nav@vaccarogroupllc.com.