The world of AI is one of energy.

We all know AI needs data and a lot of it. This is housed in data centers. Big Tech is looking to build a number of these all over the world. The constant is the need for energy.

The time is approaching where the energy needs for AI centers will dwarf that of Bitcoin. Half a decade ago, there was a fear that Bitcoin would consume most of the electricity. Instead mining became more efficient and AI explodes.

This brought data centers to the forefront of human consciousness. Most started to realize what is required as it garnered a ton of publicity.

Companies are scrambling. They cannot simply call up the local utility company and order what they need. In many instances, the data center needs rival that for the entire area.

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Meta And Nuclear Energy

Meta is one of those companies that is desperate for electricity. This firm has decided to go nuclear. After building one data center right next to a nuke plant, they now cut a deal with one.

Meta has inked a deal to keep an Illinois nuclear power plant running for the next 20 years so it can power its artificial intelligence and data center ambitions.

The deal sees the tech giant purchasing 1.1 gigawatts of power from nuclear power provider Constellation from its Clinton Clean Energy Center in southern Illinois starting in 2027, Meta said on June 3.

The entire US has about 1 terrawatt of power. This should put it into perspective.

Energy Leadership

The global leaders are going to be those that can produce power.

It is likely this was always the case. However, it takes on added meaning in the digital world which is increasingly being powered by AI. Inference is going to continue to skyrocket as AI agents and applications grow at an exponential rate.

This means that people like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have to be energy experts. One of their primary areas of focus is energy. To overlook it is death to the entity.

We see this on a national level. Unless countries radically increase their energy production, they will fall behind in the AI race. It matters none how many GPUs a country has without electricity to power them.

When I look at the struggles for the EU, this is at the top of the list. There is no way for the region to keep up with the US or China when they are lagging so far behind in energy. The push for renewables was too premature, resulting in the closure of many nuclear facilities.

China is going in the opposite direction, building as many of them as possible.

This is the essence of the latest arms race.