No need. Renewables are already the cheapest way to power them. Companies like X using gas generators aren't doing that because it's cheaper but because it's faster. They need power now, not in five years. They will in the end replace those with something cleaner as a cost optimization. But they just don't want to wait for that.
Data centers and energy infrastructure investments go hand in hand. A lot of that money is actually being allocated for energy infrastructure. Because a data center is useless if you can't power it. That is also why companies like Amazon and MS are investing in nuclear. They need large amounts of cheap power to lower their energy bills long term and they need to secure access to energy supply. They see nuclear as a way of getting that. Coal and gas is just too expensive and undesirable. There's not enough of it and it's expensive to operate. Renewables & clean power (including nuclear here) is what they want really.
What would actually help is making the permitting around renewables and nuclear faster and more efficient. The energy demand is there. And that includes from data centers. And the capital is there. It's just that energy projects are bottle-necked on bureaucracy. Many countries have loads of viable energy projects stuck in their planning pipelines. For example, it takes years to get a grid connection for new wind or solar plants that can otherwise be built and delivered in less than a year. And likewise it takes years to get construction projects approved. This also affects investments in grid infrastructure. That's nuts. These countries have energy shortages that are slowing down their economic growth. And the capital to fix that. It's just that they are blocked on their own bureaucracy.
Unlike data centers, investments in energy infrastructure provide decades of return of investment. These are long term investments. Even if AI flops (which I think is hard to argue given how useful it is already), we get to keep the energy infrastructure. And we'll find a way to repurpose those data centers. I don't see that as a write off either.
Data centers and energy infrastructure investments go hand in hand. A lot of that money is actually being allocated for energy infrastructure. Because a data center is useless if you can't power it. That is also why companies like Amazon and MS are investing in nuclear. They need large amounts of cheap power to lower their energy bills long term and they need to secure access to energy supply. They see nuclear as a way of getting that. Coal and gas is just too expensive and undesirable. There's not enough of it and it's expensive to operate. Renewables & clean power (including nuclear here) is what they want really.
What would actually help is making the permitting around renewables and nuclear faster and more efficient. The energy demand is there. And that includes from data centers. And the capital is there. It's just that energy projects are bottle-necked on bureaucracy. Many countries have loads of viable energy projects stuck in their planning pipelines. For example, it takes years to get a grid connection for new wind or solar plants that can otherwise be built and delivered in less than a year. And likewise it takes years to get construction projects approved. This also affects investments in grid infrastructure. That's nuts. These countries have energy shortages that are slowing down their economic growth. And the capital to fix that. It's just that they are blocked on their own bureaucracy.
Unlike data centers, investments in energy infrastructure provide decades of return of investment. These are long term investments. Even if AI flops (which I think is hard to argue given how useful it is already), we get to keep the energy infrastructure. And we'll find a way to repurpose those data centers. I don't see that as a write off either.