Does the data add up?
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang this week unveiled a variety of new products while predicting that its flagship AI processors would help generate $1 trillion in sales through 2027. Huang’s comments come days after a Wood Mackenzie report which suggested US data centre development has slowed because the power grid is increasingly unable to accommodate more large facilities. Developers added data centres that would consume about 25 gigawatts in the fourth quarter of 2025 - roughly half as much as the third quarter of 2025.
A gigawatt is sufficient to power around 750,000 homes. Multiply that by 25 – US data centres installed in the fourth quarter alone will use enough energy to power the best part of 20 million homes!
The New York Times has reported that the Trump administration is considering a new strategy for throttling the country’s offshore wind industry, after federal judges blocked its five previous attempts to stop wind farms under construction off the East Coast. The proposed settlements would block wind farms off New York State and North Carolina.
The United States’ grid network needs expensive upgrades after years of underinvestment. The US is not alone, electricity grids in developed and emerging economies, such as India and China, require upgrades and simply colossal investment to meet the rapid growth in demand that lies ahead.
Much of the rest of the world has turned increasingly to the development and expansion of renewable energy sources (including nuclear) to alleviate the need for unnecessary fossil fuel powered generation. America’s President continues to look the other way.
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