AI Development May Be ‘Distorting’ Electricity Flow in US: Report

Key Takeaways

• New evidence from Bloomberg found that data centers could distort electricity for thousands of homes in the U.S.
• The distortion of electricity could eventually lead to house fires and blackouts.
• America currently has the highest rate of data centers in the world.

The rapid increase in data centers to meet the growing demand for AI could be causing distorted electricity for thousands of Americans, according to new research from Bloomberg.

The Electric Power Research Institute expects AI data centers to use 9% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. by 2030.

As the technology continues to grow, Bloomberg reported that it is now threatening “billions in damage” to homes and aging power equipment.

‘Distorted’ Electricity From AI Could Be a Real Danger

New evidence suggests that over half of the homes showing the worst power distortions in the U.S. lived within 20 miles of data center activity.

The link suggests that homes closer to data centers are experiencing “bad harmonics,” which means a below-stable electricity flow.

While this is an issue in itself for everyday living, Bloomberg said it had the potential to lead to house fires and blackouts in the future.

“Sudden surges or sags in electrical supplies can lead to sparks and even home fires,” the report stated. “Left unaddressed, one problem can morph into another. That means the bad harmonics of today can be a sign of potential disaster down the road.”

America has become the largest operator of data centers in the world. In Northern Virginia alone, the data center hub provides double the capacity of all of Beijing.

Data Centers Growing Faster Than Electricity Grids

As the demand for AI continues to grow, the need for data centers also expands, driven by the immense computational power required to train and deploy AI models.

According to Bloomberg, the electricity grid has never faced the strain it currently faces with the unprecedented growth of data centers and AI.

“These city-sized users can pop up very quickly, within a year or two, which is much faster than grid planning usually happens,” Bloomberg reported. ”

The report claimed that installing thousands of these facilities to meet AI demand will cause more strain than any population boom.

Trump’s Anti-environment Policies

The move comes as President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to renew power to fossil fuels and remove regulations on AI, takes office in January.

In his previous term, Trump reversed more than 110 climate policies, including those focused on clean air and water.

Trump’s anti-environment focus is expected to come head-to-head with the switches being attempted by Big Tech, which has been looking to incorporate green solutions into AI development.

Peter Wood, Spectrum Search’s CTO, told CCN that Big Tech’s plans to power data centers with wind and nuclear energy could encounter some obstacles under a Trump presidency.

“He’s been pretty vocal about backing fossil fuels, so it’s possible that government support for renewables like wind farms could be scaled back,” Wood said. “Tax incentives that currently make green energy projects more attractive might be reduced, making investments in sustainable infrastructure more expensive.”