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How the surging demand for energy and rise of AI is straining the power grid in the U.S.
The surging demand for energy in the U.S. is growing significantly for the first time in decades. Experts say it is forecast to hit record highs both this year and next year — creating more planet-warming emissions.
Part of the demand is due to an increasing number of data centers across the country, along with the rise of artificial intelligence.
The nation’s roughly 2,700 data centers are mostly run by big tech firms like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Apple, and consumed more than 4% of all electricity in the U.S. in 2022. It’s projected to more than double to 9% by 2030, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, a research organization and nonprofit focused on energy. It is not affiliated with any companies or type of technology.
But it’s already taxing the U.S.’ aging power grid, and the demands of AI are just beginning to grow. A ChatGPT query, for example, uses nearly 10 times the electricity of a typical internet search.
“It’s gonna take innovation to really think about how we are going to scale this faster to keep up with the pace of growth,” said Amanda Peterson Corio. As the global head of Google’s data center energy, Peterson Corio’s job is to find more juice to keep the company’s power-hungry machines humming.
According to McKinsey & Co., a single data center can use as much power as 80,000 U.S. homes. Peterson Corio said it will be a challenge to make that kind of electricity use sustainable.
“As we look to the next decade, those demands continue to grow and the real challenge is trying to figure out how we can do this in a way that meets our climate goals,” she said.
Google’s planet warming emissions rose by 13% last year and have jumped nearly 50% since 2019, the company said. Google has invested heavily in wind and solar and says 64% of the time its operations run on clean energy.
When the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, data centers still rely on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change, leaving big tech scrambling to bring more clean power to the grid.
“We can develop large projects that will really move the needle on climate change,” said Tim Latimer, the CEO of Fervo Energy, which is partnering with Google to boost geothermal power.
Geothermal energy accounts for less than 1% of electricity in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy.
Fervo wants to change that. Latimer said the company think geothermal energy can be as much as 20% of the U.S. electricity grid.
Google plans to use Fervo’s geothermal power to help run its Nevada data centers and eventually others around the world, aiming to eliminate its use of coal and gas by 2030.
“We need something that has that reliability that works 24/7 to get us all the way there,” Latimer said.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.
TRENTON, N.J. — Democratic Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver has defeated Republican small businessman Carmen Bucco in a contest in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District that opened up because of the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in April.
McIver will serve out the remainder of Payne’s term, which ends in January. She and Bucco will face a rematch on the November ballot for the full term.
McIver said in a statement Wednesday that she stands on the “shoulders of giants,” naming Payne as chief among them.
She cast ahead to the November election, saying the right to make reproductive health choices was on the ballot as well as whether the economy should benefit the wealthy or “hard working Americans.”
“I will fight because the purpose of politics and the purpose of our vote is to give the people of our communities and our nation a bold voice,” she said.
Bucco congratulated McIver on the victory in a statement but said he’s looking forward to the rematch in November.
“I am not going anywhere,” he said in an email. “We still have a second chance to make district 10 great again!”
Who are LaMonica McIver and Carmen Bucco?
McIver emerged as the Democratic candidate in a crowded field in the July special election. A member of the city council of New Jersey’s biggest city since 2018, she also worked for Montclair Public Schools as a personnel director and plans to focus on affordability, infrastructure, abortion rights and “protecting our democracy,” she told The Associated Press earlier this summer.
Bucco describes himself on his campaign website as a small-business owner influenced by his upbringing in the foster system. He lists support for law enforcement and ending corruption as top issues.
The 10th District lies in a heavily Democratic and majority-Black region of northern New Jersey. Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.
It’s been a volatile year for Democrats in New Jersey, where the party dominates state government and the congressional delegation.
Among the developments were the conviction on federal bribery charges of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who has denied the charges, and the demise of the so-called county party line — a system in which local political leaders give their preferred candidates favorable position on the primary ballot.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who’s running for Menendez’s seat, and other Democrats brought a federal lawsuit challenging the practice as part of his campaign to oust Menendez, who has resigned since his conviction.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Wagon rolls over at Wisconsin apple orchard injuring about 25 children and adults