The contribution of nuclear power plants will not breastfeed the energy hungry from AI. First appeared at the online magazine Basic Thinking. You can start the day well every morning via our newsletter update.
Artificial intelligence has enormous energy consumption that will probably continue to increase in the coming years. However, as a current evaluation shows, nuclear power plants will probably not play a decisive role in the power supply of AI in the future.
Digitization and the rapidly advancing developments in the field of artificial intelligence drive the global energy consumption. In Germany alone, the energy consumption of data centers in 2024 was scarce 20 billion kilowatt hours. In the previous year, the number was 18.8 billion kilowatt hours.
It is estimated that the electricity consumption of AI data centers in 2027 is said to 500 terawatt hours a year to reach. That would be an increase of 2.6 times the need of 2023.
Efficient and reliable energy source are crucial so that a stable power supply can still be ensured. One Analysis of the International Energy Agency (IEA) However, it shows that nuclear power plants will hardly be decisive in the energy mix for AI.
Nuclear power plants cannot provide AI sufficiently
The construction of nuclear power plants is lengthy and associated with high costs. While nuclear power has long been a reliable energy source, the attractiveness of nuclear systems has decreased drastically in recent years.
Even the increasing energy requirement will hardly be able to be collected by nuclear power plants in the coming years. As the international energy agency calculated, investments in nuclear energy would have to be doubled worldwide to around 117 billion euros by 2030. This is the only way to play nuclear power plants a crucial role in the energy mix.
In 2024, however, only six new facilities were taken online, however, four. The main reason for this is delays in construction and increasing construction costs. But also the critical attitude towards nuclear power in numerous countries does not help to ensure that the expansion grows proportional to the KI energy hunger.
Renewable energies collect
While the expansion of renewable energies is promoted in numerous EU countries such as Germany, others in turn continue to rely on nuclear power. For example, France or Poland, where new reactors are still being planned.
Nuclear power plants are hardly suitable for the supply of AI data centers due to their enormous construction and operating costs and long construction times. Because the tech industry is already dependent on short-term solutions.
For these reasons, too, the expansion of renewable energies is increasingly being used. Because these are more cost -effective in building and in the company and thus offer more planning security – also at short notice. In order to continuously supply electricity centers with electricity and not to endanger the network stability, storing energy is an essential factor for the power supply.
High construction costs, long implementation times and regulatory uncertainties make nuclear power projects appear to be not very suitable in order to cover the dynamically growing energy requirement of the tech industry. Renewable energies, on the other hand, represent a scalable and economically attractive solution that also offers ecological advantages.
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The contribution of nuclear power plants will not breastfeed the energy from AI. First appeared on Basic Thinking. Follow us too Google News and Flipboard Or subscribe to our update newsletter.
As a tech industry expert, I believe that nuclear power plants are not the answer to addressing the growing demand for clean and renewable energy sources. While nuclear power does provide a relatively low carbon footprint compared to fossil fuels, the risks and challenges associated with nuclear energy are significant.
Firstly, the high cost of building and maintaining nuclear power plants makes them economically unfeasible compared to other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Additionally, the potential for catastrophic accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima highlight the inherent dangers of nuclear power.
Furthermore, the issue of nuclear waste disposal remains a major concern, as there is currently no long-term solution for storing and managing radioactive waste. This poses a serious risk to public health and the environment.
In contrast, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power offer a more sustainable and cost-effective solution to meeting our energy needs. These technologies are rapidly advancing and becoming more affordable, making them a more viable option for powering our future.
Overall, I believe that nuclear power plants will not be able to meet the growing demand for clean energy and should not be relied upon as a solution to our energy needs. It is crucial that we invest in and prioritize the development of renewable energy sources to ensure a sustainable and secure energy future.
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