Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/25/eu_dc_power/
Source: The Register
Title: European datacenter energy consumption set to triple by end of decade
Feedly Summary: McKinsey warns an additional 25GW of mostly green energy will be needed
Datacenter power consumption across Europe could roughly triple by the end of the decade, driven by mass adoption of everyone’s favorite tech trend: AI.…
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses a McKinsey report predicting that datacenter power consumption in Europe could triple by 2030 due to the rise of AI technologies. It highlights the challenges of decarbonizing datacenters and suggests potential strategies to mitigate their environmental impact.
Detailed Description:
The text revolves around a significant forecast concerning the impact of AI on datacenter power consumption in Europe, as reported by McKinsey. The implications of this forecast are critical for professionals in areas related to infrastructure, cloud computing, and sustainability.
– **Power Consumption Surge**: European datacenter power consumption is anticipated to rise sharply from 62 terawatt hours (TWh) to approximately 150 TWh by 2030.
– This increase could represent about five percent of Europe’s total electrical energy supply.
– **Green Energy Challenges**: The report emphasizes the urgent need for utilities to boost generation capacity by around 25 gigawatts, predominantly through renewable sources.
– **Decarbonization Goals**: The datacenter industry faces significant hurdles in meeting net-zero targets within a 2030-2040 timeframe.
– Notable voices in the industry, like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, argue that AI might ultimately help address climate challenges, despite its own sizeable energy consumption.
– **Limitations of Current Offset Practices**: While cloud and datacenter operators often utilize renewable energy credits to offset emissions, these credits are noted to have minimal long-term impact and do not incentivize the development of new clean energy projects.
– **Strategic Solutions**:
– Locating datacenters near clean energy sources could reduce the environmental footprint, particularly during the training of AI models, which is energy-intensive but can be positioned away from urban centers.
– As AI workloads migrate towards inference, which has latency requirements, there may be a necessity for more facilities near large population hubs.
– **Innovative Energy Solutions**: McKinsey is exploring various methods for sustainable energy, including:
– **Carbon capture**
– **Onsite small modular reactors**: This option, while popular among cloud providers, awaits commercial deployment.
– **Alternative power sources**: Diesel generators, fuel cells, and facility-scale batteries play roles in ensuring datacenter stability against grid fluctuations.
– **Contrasting Energy Demand Forecasts**: McKinsey also indicates potentially lower overall energy demand growth than previously expected, which may offset some of the anticipated datacenter growth.
The insights provided are crucial for security and compliance professionals, particularly regarding the sustainability of infrastructure and the need for regulatory frameworks to address energy consumption and emissions in the age of AI expansion.