{"id":236062,"date":"2025-10-27T08:58:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T08:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/ia-futuro-politica-energetica\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T09:37:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T09:37:35","slug":"ai-future-energy-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/ai-future-energy-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"AI and the future of energy policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"entry-title\"><span class=\"font-377884\">AI and the future of energy policy<\/span><\/h1>\n<h3><em><span class=\"font-377884\">As artificial intelligence drives energy demand to new highs, tech giants are turning to a sector long sidelined in the push for a green transition.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"toc-only\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"font-377884\">In a nutshell<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span class=\"font-377884\">AI\u2019s explosive growth is triggering an energy crisis<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"font-377884\">Businesses are locking in nuclear power for long-term supply<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"font-377884\">Governments may struggle to adapt outdated green policies<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_235955\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-235955\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-235955 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Cooling towers - Image by Joe from Pixabay\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay-350x197.jpg 350w, https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cooling-towers-Image-by-Joe-from-Pixabay.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-235955\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"font-377884\">Cooling towers &#8211; Image by Joe from Pixabay<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><span class=\"font-377884\">In early June, United States media reported that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, signed a 20-year agreement to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy. As CNBC reported: \u201cBeginning in 2027, the tech giant will purchase about 1.1 gigawatts of power from Constellation\u2019s Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois. \u2026 Tech companies, including Amazon, Google and Meta, signed a pledge in March led by the World Nuclear Association calling for nuclear energy worldwide to triple by 2050.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">In fact, Google has already agreed to buy\u202fa total of 500 megawatts of power from Kairos Power, Amazon\u202fhas partnered with Energy Northwest\u202fand\u202fDominion Energy\u202fto support the development of nuclear energy projects and Microsoft made a deal to help restart Unit 1 of the\u202fThree Mile Island\u202fnuclear plant in Pennsylvania.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">The explosive growth of the artificial intelligence industry, a boom that is still only in its infancy, is already triggering surging electricity demand that is set to intensify in the near future. The hundreds of millions of people who are now regularly using AI are equivalent to millions of new homes being added to the power grid. This number will only keep growing.\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">In addition to private use, the development and constant training and adaptation of AI models will add to this exploding energy demand. Putting the genie back in the bottle is impossible at this point. Governments and companies around the world will be forced to make some very uncomfortable, but highly necessary decisions if they are to compete in the AI arena.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"font-377884\">Adapting to new levels of energy demand<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">The past decade has been largely characterized by energy policies that support the \u201cGreen Agenda,\u201d with all kinds of measures aiming for a transition to renewable energy sources. In most advanced economies, governments, regulators and various institutions committed to expediting this transformation using both incentives and penalties to force the private sector and even individual citizens to change the way they operate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">Massive tax breaks and subsidies were handed out to the solar and wind energy sectors, while fossil fuels were heavily penalized, especially as the race to net-zero emissions picked up pace. Nuclear energy also suffered serious reputational attacks, particularly from politicians and environmental groups. In Europe, especially, the crusade against nuclear power led to the closure of many plants, a move which resulted in even greater energy dependency of the European Union. This vulnerability proved catastrophic after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">The rise of AI, however, presents a challenge that requires pragmatism rather than idealism. The energy demands of the new industry cannot be fully accommodated within the existing policy framework in most advanced economies. The Green Agenda\u2019s \u201cposter kids,\u201d namely solar and wind power, provide intermittent energy and cannot guarantee the constant and reliable supply that AI data centers require.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">Of course, fossil fuels could cover these gaps \u2013 as they already do in many renewable energy production facilities \u2013 but they carry their own sets of problems. For one thing, they would have to play a much more central role than they do now to allow solar and wind plants to power AI data centers, which are extremely energy-intensive. They would no longer be mere backups in case of unfavorable weather conditions, and as a result, they would account for a much higher share of the energy mix. Furthermore, this solution would likely be politically untenable for governments that publicly championed net-zero goals. It would also be unworkable for companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon that have made public commitments to reducing their carbon footprint.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">This is where nuclear power becomes effectively inescapable. Unlike solar and wind energy, nuclear plants provide uninterrupted power around the clock and do not emit greenhouse gases like fossil fuels. This option would allow both tech companies and governments to meet their emissions goals. Most importantly, its fuel and running costs are both low and relatively stable, with no extreme price fluctuations that can disrupt long-term planning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">However, there are still considerable challenges to overcome. Public perception and the resulting political reluctance are obvious obstacles, as accidents like Fukushima and Chernobyl have left a lasting impact on public trust. Nuclear plant construction also requires significant upfront investment and long lead times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">According to the International Energy Agency, the conservative cost estimate of a 1.1-gigawatt nuclear power plant\u202fis about $7.8 billion. Historically, this argument alone has rendered nuclear power unattractive, making it difficult to justify investing in new plants. This state of affairs is now rapidly changing, given the scale of the new demand from the AI sector \u2013 which also solves the problem of long lead times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">A new nuclear facility can take between six and eight years to complete, making it risky for producers to accurately forecast demand this far into the future. But AI companies are now alleviating these concerns by signing long-term contracts and guaranteeing steady purchases decades in advance, like Meta and its recently signed 20-year agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/patent-innovative-production-energy-electricity\/\">The hydroelectric turbine for rivers which will revolutionize energy production<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"font-377884\">Scenarios<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"font-377884\">Likely: States transition to nuclear energy at varying speeds\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">The main question is how governments will adapt to these new realities. More flexible and adaptable nations that prioritize global competitiveness, like the U.S. or China, are bound to make the nuclear switch more efficiently and sooner. However, the most likely scenario for rigid bureaucracies like the EU and many of its member states is a slow and inefficient transition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">There have been some signs of change coming out of Europe recently. Germany, one of the fiercest opponents of nuclear energy, signaled last month that it will no longer block efforts by France and other key members to reintroduce nuclear power to the bloc\u2019s energy strategy. The Netherlands and Belgium have turned to atomic energy once again, having previously announced plans to shut reactors. But the sluggish pace of action at the EU level is no match for the breakneck speed at which the AI industry is growing. The most likely outcome is that the bloc will do too little, too late and will be left behind in the AI race.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"font-377884\">Less likely: Technological breakthroughs lead to reduced energy consumption\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\">Another possibility, albeit rather improbable, is that technological progress and evolution within the AI sector itself will eventually bring energy consumption to levels much lower than expected. This could be done by optimizing the existing energy needs of other sectors, by improving production efficiencies and by requiring less computational power for its own industry\u2019s needs. This development would allow AI companies to continue to operate without resorting to nuclear power, or only partially.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"8415\" data-end=\"8944\"><span class=\"font-377884\"><strong>Author: Vahan P. Roth is an executive board member of Swissgrams AG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"font-377884\"><strong>Source<\/strong>: <\/span><span class=\"font-377884\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gisreportsonline.com\/r\/ai-energy\/\">https:\/\/www.gisreportsonline.com\/r\/ai-energy\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As artificial intelligence drives energy demand to new highs, tech giants are turning to a sector long sidelined in the push for a green transition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":235956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2275,1698,988,260,210,305,1999,1030],"tags":[2090,1326,1297,1248],"class_list":["post-236062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america-en","category-environment","category-geopolitics","category-highlights","category-magazine","category-politics","category-technology","category-usa-en","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-energy-3","tag-gis","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236062"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236071,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236062\/revisions\/236071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swissfederalism.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}