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This week, Google brought us two major energy stories. Google announced it has signed an agreement with a company to buy electricity from its first power plant. Google released their latest report on the environment, showing that The energy consumption of data centres has increased. Double up Since 2020.
These two news items, when combined, provide a glimpse into how desperate big tech firms are to find clean electricity for their data centres as the energy consumption and emissions continue to rise in this age of AI. We don’t really know how much pollution comes from AI, because Google does not break it out. Also a problem! What’s the next step and what is all this about?
Start with the fusion. Google has a deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems to supply 200 megawatts. Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ first commercial facility, which is a Virginia-based plant called the Arc Power Plant by the company, will provide the power. This agreement is for half of its total capacity.
It’s crucial to remember that the power plant has not yet been built. Commonwealth has yet to start its Sparc demonstrator reactor outside Boston. This site should be finished in 2026, as I saw it in the autumn.
It’s not the first time that a Big Tech company has partnered with fusion companies. Microsoft and Helion signed an agreement a few years back to purchase 50 megawatts from a power plant that is scheduled to be online by 2028. As my colleague James Temple noted, experts expressed their skepticism following that deal.
Google’s announcement, however, represents a major moment in the history of fusion. This is partly because the company, Commonwealth, a spin-off from MIT’s Plasma Science Center and Fusion, has been viewed by some in the industry to be a strong candidate for the first commercial plant to come off the ground. (MIT Technology Review The magazine is published by MIT, but it is independent in editorial terms.
Google’s leadership has been very upfront about the timeframe. Michael Terrell said, “We’d definitely put this into the long-term” category in a recent press conference.
Google announced its foray in fusion just days after releasing its most recent environmental report. The report highlights some positives, but some numbers are not so positive.
Google’s carbon emissions are up by more than 50% in the last yearThe price of a car has risen by 6% just in the past year. This is the exact opposite direction of a company whose goal was to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2020.
The company has invested billions in clean energy, and made significant investments into next-generation technologies such as advanced geothermal and nuclear systems. These deals may have helped to slow down emissions, but they are not enough to meet the growing energy demands.
Google’s data center electricity consumption was 27% higher than the previous year. It’s Double up Since 2020, the total amount of energy produced will exceed 30 Terawatt Hours. This is almost the total annual consumption of electricity in the country. Ireland .
It’s easy to blame AI as an outsider. After all, this technology is now ubiquitous and has permeated every aspect of Google products and services. The report minimizes AI’s role. This is one thing that I found interesting:
It’s also important to remember that the growth in our electricity demand is not solely due to AI. This growth has also been attributed to the accelerating growth in Google Cloud, continuing investments in Search and YouTube’s expanding reach.
This statement has enough room to fit a big electric truck. Mara Harris, a company representative who responded via email to my question about relative contributions said that the company does not break down what percentage comes from AI. She said that she would check, but never got back to me.
We’ve already made this point in the past, for example with our package on AI and Energy. AI energy requirements should be disclosed by big companies. It’s not a good idea to guess at the effects of this technology.
Google is putting a lot of resources and effort into achieving ambitious climate targets. As Google’s energy demands and the needs of other industries continue to grow, this issue is becoming more difficult.
The article below is taken from The Spark. MIT Technology ReviewThe weekly newsletter on climate. You can receive the newsletter every Wednesday in your email. Sign up for our newsletter .
