DISCLAIMER – This week’s Weekly Whiteboard takes a slight detour from our usual investment and financial planning focus. Instead, we’re exploring a critical trend that’s reshaping both the tech and energy sectors: the massive power demands of our increasingly digital world, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI).
As AI, data centers, and cryptocurrency mining expand at an exponential rate, they’re creating unprecedented demands on our power grid. This shift is not just a technical challenge—it’s opening up new possibilities in how we generate and distribute energy, with potential ripple effects across multiple industries and investment sectors.
Key Points:
- Global electricity demand from data centers, AI, and cryptocurrency could double by 2026.
- Nuclear power is emerging as a potential solution, offering consistent, carbon-neutral energy.
- Tech giants are actively investing in nuclear power to meet their energy needs:
- Google has committed to buying power from seven small modular reactors to be built by Kairos Power, targeting 500 megawatts of nuclear power by 2030-2035.
- Microsoft struck a deal with Constellation Energy to restart a reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island.
- Amazon purchased a data center at another Pennsylvania nuclear plant.
- Small modular reactors (SMRs) are gaining traction as a potentially faster and less costly alternative to traditional large-scale nuclear plants.
- This shift may present investment opportunities in nuclear power, uranium, and related technologies.
For more in-depth information, we recommend two insightful articles:
- “Nuclear power gains favor as AI electricity demand soars” by Myra P. Saefong, published on MarketWatch on April 27, 2023.
- “Google Backs New Nuclear Plants to Power AI” by Jennifer Hiller, published in The Wall Street Journal on October 14, 2024.
Click here to read “Nuclear power gains favor as AI electricity demand soars”
Click here to read “Google Backs New Nuclear Plants to Power AI”/p>
The intersection of cutting-edge technology and energy production is creating a fascinating landscape of challenges and opportunities. As we navigate this evolving terrain, we invite you to consider how these changes might impact various sectors of the economy and potentially your own investment strategies.
