TRANSCRIPT
Have you thought about how much energy it will take for tech companies to preserve your data in their data centres, every time when you click save on your computer?
It seems like an enormous task- and it turns out, it could be even bigger than you think.
According to the International Energy Agency, in 2022, data centres accounted for 1 to 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption.
And with the rise of Artificial Intelligence [[A-I]] programs like ChatGPT, tech companies are finding that kind of technology is quite energy-intensive , meaning companies have to start thinking about the carbon emissions from A-I.
That's why for Kevin Miller, the vice president of global data centres at Amazon Web Services, has announced investment in nuclear energy by his firm... worth nearly three quarters of a billion dollars.
[["It's clear that AI is going to require a lot of power and a lot of data centres. And our focus here is on obviously on powering these with clean carbon-free energy."]]
According to global consultancy Goldman Sachs, the electricity required to process a ChatGPT query is almost nine times higher than a Google search.
And while they have stronger demand for efficient data centres. It's estimated that by 2030, data centre power demand will grow 160 per cent.
Another consultancy, Morgan Stanley, also estimates that by 2030, the global data centre sector will accumulate to 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon emissions.
Amazon is the largest emitter, compared to similar large firms Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple.
In 2023, the company generated 68.82 million metric tonnes emissions, in comparison to the 70.74 million tonnes the previous year.
Shannon Kellogg is Amazon's vice president for public policy.
He says Amazon takes its responsibility of cutting carbon emissions seriously.
"As the energy needs of our businesses and customers continue to grow, Amazon is thinking big about the challenges ahead. And we know that transitioning to carbon-free energy is one of the fastest ways to meet these needs while also addressing climate change."
In 2019, the company set up a goal of powering its global operation with 100 per cent renewable energy.
It also heavily invested in more than 500 wind and solar projects, as well as buying renewable energy credits for their operations during the time of these projects being built.
Last year, the company claimed it reached the renewable energy target seven years earlier, but some experts have to American media Forbes the claim is too vague, with details being too vague and lack of transparency.
Amazon's move to nuclear energy follows Google and Microsoft's paths.
Last month, Microsoft announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with energy company Constellation, saying it will purchase energy from Constellation's nuclear reactor to meet its sustainability goals, after Microsoft stated in May that its carbon emissions were nearly 31 per cent higher than in 2020, as a result of building data centre and hardware for A-I.
And just two days before Amazon's announcement, Google said it signed a world-first agreement with California's energy company Kairos Power, ordering them to build six or seven small nuclear reactors to power its data centre.
The first reactor is expected to be completed by 2030, and the remainder by 2035.
Amazon's investment consists of three agreements, including one with the state-owned Energy Northwest, to develop a nuclear power technology called Small Modular Reactors to power its data centres.
Jennifer Granholm is the U-S Energy Secretary.
She says she welcomes Amazon investing in the small modular nuclear reactors.
"And we're thrilled that the AWS is the latest to BYOP, as we say, bring your own power to the buildout of these data centres. And obviously, smart small modular reactors are a huge piece of how we're going to solve this puzzle of getting to 100% clean electricity by 2035 while adding, while responding to all of the demand that will be created as a result of the data centres and the other new factories, etc. that are coming online."
The small modular reactor technology is predicted to be more efficient than traditional nuclear reactors.
However, it's still in its early development, and it still has to go through regulatory approval.
And the tech giants' passion for nuclear energy is also doubted by by anti-nuclear power groups.
Arnie Gundersen, a chief engineer at Fiarewinds Energy Education, has told the New York Times that the United States has tried to build 250 power reactors since 1960, but more than half have been cancelled before generating any electricity, while few remaining reactors were completed on time and on budget.
Amazon's investment comes at a time when the Biden government tries to boost nuclear technology in the United States.
This week, the US Department of Energy opened up hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to support U-S companies to deploy small modular reactor technologies.
Responding to questions over the technology, Kevin Miller from Amazon Web Services says safety is always prioritised.
"Whatever we do, of course we'd like to do it faster. We'd like to make it less...we'd like to reduce the cost for it. But there's never any compromise on safety."
Amazon says it aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its global operations by 2040.
