The AI Propportunity. I don’t listen to many cleantech podcasts (tend to stick to my hometown sports pod…Go Panthers!). But in this week’s podcast with John Engel and Mike Casey the topic of AI came up and gave me a few thoughts. AI is going to use a lot of energy, even as AI chip usage will get more efficient, I’d assume that it will still be 10x as much per query and likely get queried more than a typical search does today. On the other hand, electrification in transportation and smart homes will increase demand so much that every utility and ISO is working through their demand projections that probably put the grid up 15-20% by 2030 (which is an insane growth curve). Last year solar made up 75% of new generation (on a capacity basis) which probably doesn’t even keep up with retirements and reduction in availability from aging power plants, let alone load growth. This is definitely a megatrend in my mind, just how much more solar will have to be built to keep up with the economic growth in the US and abroad, and what can I do about it?
- Renewable Energy World: AI could strain the grid, or make it a lot smarter — This Week in Cleantech
- Reuters: Right-wing shift may slow, not reverse climate action
- Axios: Biden-Trump debate lacked energy … literally
- PV-Magazine: Iron flow battery manufacturer secures $50 million investment
- Bloomberg: Silver Spikes as Solar Sucks Supply-BNEF
- PV-Tech: More energy storage to alleviate solar PV curtailment issues in Greece
- Canary Media: Huge, controversial LNG export terminal gets green light from FERC
Opinion
Best, Yann