The capacity and availability of the electricity grid is a hot topic in recent times. In the UK there is a logjam of grid connections for offshore and onshore wind and solar. According to the Science Museum Group, there are around 400 gigawatts worth of power projects currently queuing to be connected to the UK’s power grids and may face a wait of 10-15 years. The growth of the electric car market has also raised the demands on the electricity grid. This is something that can be extended globally as the pressure is on to meet worldwide climate targets.
Figure 1: Solar Technician Installing Solar Panels on Rooftop.
Google’s Future Data Centres
Google has previously raised concerns about the capacity of the US electricity grid to support the exponential growth of AI-powered services. Google has a rollout of data centres planned across the USA, and to support this, Google, in partnership with Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate, announced on 10th December 2024 a new initiative to address the growing energy demands of AI and data centre operations. Intersect Power is a developer and operator of clean energy assets based in the United States. TPG Rise Climate is the dedicated climate investigating strategy of private equity firm TPG Inc.
The partnership will mean that gigawatts of renewable power generation and storage capacities will be developed on Google’s future data centres in the United States, giving a reliable and sustainable power supply. This partnership’s first co-located ‘energy park’ is already in the financing stage, and is planned to begin operating in 2026, and be completed by 2027.
“The tri-party partnership brings a new approach that can enable US leadership in AI development, while thoughtfully building data centre load next to new additional power generation where possible – reducing both the timeline to operation and the amount of new transmission required,” Google stated in a separate press statement.
A Blueprint for the Future?
Google calls this a ‘power first’ approach to data centre development designed to ease grid burden and improve overall reliability and affordability for all energy customers. It would certainly be refreshing to see clean energy being considered as a critical part of heavy energy-use developments going forward.
With AI becoming an ever more significant tool used by people around the world, it is likely that we will see more of these kinds of partnerships struck up on a larger scale with big companies. Digital infrastructure being expanded is an inevitable part of the future growth of AI, but this must be done responsibly and sustainably.
About Pager Power
Pager Power undertakes technical assessments for developers of renewable energy projects and tall buildings worldwide.
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Image accreditation: Hoan Ngọc (June 2021) from Pexels.com. Last accessed on 17th December 2024. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/solar-technician-installing-solar-panels-6961112/
