Data centers for AI could require power equivalent to five Hoover Dams

Across the country, Americans are using the internet at every hour of every day. According to a 2024 Pew Research Poll, 96% of adults reported using the internet at least occasionally on a mobile device. That number has risen gradually since May 2000, when just 48% reported occasional use. With more people online, energy providers have begun preparing for a higher demand for electricity.

“The internet use was overstated, as it turns out, at least in the early going. And then it caught up, and we saw the consumptive use later,” Constellation President and CEO Joseph Dominguez said.

But when it comes to new artificial intelligence, Dominguez says widespread usage happened almost immediately and has expanded faster than the internet boom. White House A.I. and Crypto Czar David Sacks agrees.

“The adoption is faster than any previous technology. It’s faster than the internet, it’s faster than the iPhone. So, it’s being adopted very quickly,” Sacks said. “Still, roughly half the public hasn’t tried it yet.”

Fox News Polling shows 57% of registered voters rarely or never use artificial intelligence. Twenty-seven percent said they use the technology daily. Usage could be driven by their opinion of the technology. Those who saw A.I. as bad for society were less familiar with it and said they used it rarely (77%). Those who consider A.I. a good thing used it more regularly (47%). Experts believe A.I. use will only increase.

“OpenAI’s ChatGPT, when they launched, was the fastest-growing adoption of any consumer technology product ever back in November 2022, but that’s a drop in the bucket as to what they have now,” said senior advisor Gregory Allen with the Wadhwani A.I. center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In order to supply the increasing demand and continue advancing A.I. technology, data centers are providing a 24-hour connection.

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A graph of annual energy consumption (Fox News / Fox News)

“Running all of these computational resources that modern A.I. needs requires an awful lot of electricity,” Allen said.

A.I. models are frequently trained to remain relevant. Software requires regular updates and new data centers need large cooling systems to keep everything running. Allen says the largest A.I. algorithms will require between 1 and 5 gigawatts of electricity to operate.

“One gigawatt is about one Hoover Dam’s worth of electricity. So, imagine five Hoover Dams being used to just power one data center full of one company’s A.I.,” Allen said.

The growing complexity and need for updated infrastructure has put a strain on available resources.

“Data centers have become very large. So when you think about it, we need land that needs to be zoned. We need to get permits so that we can build these facilities, and we need to bring more electricity,” Microsoft President and…