AI firms are getting creative as they scramble for energy

AI companies are scrambling for electricity to run data centers, and utilities can't keep up, so many firms are building their own power sources on-site. Big gas turbines are backordered due to supply chain problems, so companies are improvising: one developer signed a $1.25 billion deal for jet-engine turbines to power data centers, another is using turbines normally built for cruise ships, and Oracle plans to buy 2.8 gigawatts of fuel cells. Some proposals are far stranger, including floating data centers powered by ocean waves, an underwater data center off the Maine coast, and plans from Meta and Elon Musk to beam solar power from space or put data centers in orbit. Most of these unusual ideas are unlikely to happen soon, but they show how urgently these companies want power.

The more ordinary workarounds matter now, though. These on-site gas plants are releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases, and some experts say they will push up electricity bills for regular customers. They also cause local air pollution, most notably from Elon Musk's xAI facility near Memphis, which has run dozens of unpermitted gas turbines on flatbed trailers.

This fight over data center power is also playing out locally. Seattle and Flint, Michigan have paused new data center development while they write rules, and states including Texas, Ohio, Delaware and Pennsylvania are considering requirements that new facilities pay for grid upgrades or bring their own power. If a large data center is proposed near you, these debates over cost and pollution may end up affecting local electricity rates or permitting rules in your area.