As global AI energy usage mounts, Nvidia claims efficiency gains of up to 100,000X

“It’s absolutely true that innovation can be in direct conflict with company goals or mandates to reduce carbon footprint and emissions,” said Ken Ringdahl, CTO at software company Emburse. “Deep learning and large language models are a transformative technology, but they demand significant resources which implies an increased power draw and resultant emissions.”

Major enterprises are making commitments to reduce emissions and improve sustainability. Microsoft, for one, is set to reopen the notorious Three Mile Island nuclear plant and has committed to become carbon neutral by 2030. Google, meanwhile, has been making progress with geothermal energy in Nevada.

“The deals that tech companies are making to put their own money up to achieve environmental goals are exciting,” said Josh Smith, energy policy lead at the nonprofit Abundance Institute.

However, we should be “dismayed” at the pace of these developments, he pointed out. For instance, Pennsylvania’s governor had to issue a special plea to fast-track Microsoft’s application, and Google’s deal won’t go through until likely the first or second quarter of 2025 due to the “complicated and long-winded regulatory process.”

He and other experts call for action at the federal level, contending that the US environmental protection system has effectively killed new projects and requires updates to encourage clean energy generation. Energy shortages are “self-inflicted” due to projects being stalled by red tape, said Smith.

“The fundamental misunderstanding in many conversations is that there’s a conflict between growth and green goals,” he pointed out. “The opposite is true — economic growth, technological progress, and environmental progress can go hand in hand.”