16 stories tagged Energy
Energy companies are going public at the fastest pace this century as investors seek to capitalize on AI's soaring electricity demands. The trend underscores how AI is reshaping industries beyond tech, creating new opportunities in power generation and data center infrastructure.
Nearly 200 US utility companies and data center developers have signed President Trump's "rate payer protection pledge" to prevent AI's growing energy demands from driving up consumer electricity bills. The initiative aims to manage the power needs of AI data centers without passing costs to households.
OpenAI is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy and national labs to deploy frontier AI models for accelerating breakthroughs in energy, climate science, and medical research.
Local governments and residents are increasingly opposing the construction of AI data centers due to their massive energy demands and environmental impact. These protests are growing as tech companies expand their AI infrastructure.
Sunrun is launching a pilot program that lets homeowners earn money by hosting AI data center nodes in their homes. This could make AI computing more sustainable and accessible, but raises questions about energy use and privacy.
The surge in AI data centers is creating a boom in advanced battery technology. This could lead to cheaper, more efficient energy storage for everyday use.
Researchers evaluated AI agents on complex energy market tasks, including live data retrieval, regulatory knowledge, and multi-step quantitative reasoning. The study fills a critical gap, with 243 expert-designed tasks showing how tool-augmented LLMs could make energy systems more efficient and responsive.
A former Databricks AI chief has unveiled Un-0, an image-generation system that could slash AI power consumption by up to 1,000 times, making AI more accessible and environmentally friendly.
Nvidia introduced a cooling system that reduces water use in data centers. However, this doesn't address the larger issue of water consumption by fossil fuel power plants that supply AI infrastructure.
The U.S. government has ordered faster grid connections for AI data centers, but this doesn't solve the underlying electricity shortages. Experts warn it could worsen shortages for other customers and drive up costs.
General Motors announced new vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology that allows EVs to feed energy back into the grid, potentially offsetting the massive power demands of AI data centers. This move highlights how electric vehicles could play a crucial role in balancing energy needs in an AI-driven future.
Researchers propose the Regulatory Context Protocol (RCP), an Agent-to-Agent communication standard that could drastically speed up nuclear reactor approvals. The approach uses AI to handle routine regulatory communication, freeing humans to focus on critical safety decisions.
Researchers created a system to track how much energy AI agents use to complete real-world tasks. This could help make AI systems more efficient and transparent about their environmental impact.
Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation spot for Silicon Valley tech workers, is experiencing rising electricity costs due to the increased demand from AI data centers. This could impact both residents and visitors who rely on affordable energy for their stays.
Tech companies are racing to build massive AI data centers, but these energy-hungry facilities are causing conflicts over power grids, utility bills, and environmental impact. The debate highlights the tension between AI's potential and its physical demands.
The rapid expansion of AI data centers in a heavily polluted US city has stalled clean-air initiatives, despite environmental promises. Local officials struggle to balance economic growth with public health concerns.