Catholic climate experts warn AI power demands are straining resources

Catholic climate advocates and energy experts warn that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is placing unprecedented demands on electricity and water supplies, driving up energy costs and pollution levels.

The concerns were raised during a July 21 webinar organized by Catholic Climate Covenant on energy affordability, clean energy, and data centers.

The webinar was addressed by Maria Fernanda Chavez, senior energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, Jamie Dickerson, senior director of climate and clean energy programs at Acadia Center, and Ian Moise, director of Catholic Energies.

Data centers are the physical infrastructure that process data to make our digital lives possible. Roughly 12,000 data centers are in operation worldwide, with about half in the US, according to Cloudscene, a data center directory.

Dickerson said the PJM electricity market, the largest regional power grid operator in the US, has seen data center-driven demand contribute to billions of dollars in power capacity costs.

“Data centers are consuming enormous amounts of power,” Dickerson said, adding that technology companies should be required to bring new clean electricity onto the grid to meet the additional demand they create.

To read the full article from UCA News, click here.