133. AI, Datacenters and Energy - May24

133. AI, Datacenters and Energy - May24

"McKinsey, BCG and S&P Global Commodity Insights project electricity demand tied to data centers to increase at a CAGR of 15% through 2030." “Booming AI demand threatens global electricity supply (FT)”. Media and consultants have recently raised the alarm about the unquenchable energy thirst of AI and datacentres. Can we believe those predictions or is it another scaremongering wave like we saw 15 years ago, when prophets predicted that the internet would soon consume 50% of the world power?

Laurent and Gerard prefer to go directly to the source. So, we have invited Michael Terrell, Senior Director Energy and Climate at Google. Google is one of the Top 5 purchasers of Green Electricity in the world, and Michael is one of the key architects for providing 24/7 green power to their 28 datacenters around the world.

With Michael, we analyse why datacenters consume so much energy. We also discuss why the overall grid has not melted down despite ominous predictions a decade ago, as energy efficiency improvements have been spectacular. We talk about fostering the purchase of green energy and especially 24/7. We discuss new tech, whether software (Tapestry) or hardtech (geothermal, nuclear, LDES) and why Google and others BigTech are fostering them. Finally, we discuss the development of AI and its impact on the future demand.

All in all, a great discussion but more importantly a very optimistic dialogue, where we see that we – the Energy Transition Brotherhood – are a force for good and we will defeat – easily – the old guard of fossil fuel lobbyists and scaremongers.

We thank Amundi for supporting our show

Episoder(179)

94. Heat Pumps are Hot - Mar23

94. Heat Pumps are Hot - Mar23

3 million heat pumps were installed in Europe in 2022 (up 38% year on year) with some markets going crazy (Poland went up 120%). The movement is not limited to Europe, as US annual sales rose above 4 ...

15 Mar 202331min

93.  Supply chain - wind, solar, batteries: how to fix the mess? - Mar23

93. Supply chain - wind, solar, batteries: how to fix the mess? - Mar23

The supply chains in renewables are a total mess. Security of Supply, Price fluctuations, Technological changes, ESG… Acquiring equipment on time and on budget is becoming a harder challenge by the da...

1 Mar 202331min

92. Who’s winning the battery arms race? - Feb23

92. Who’s winning the battery arms race? - Feb23

We discovered Simon Moores, CEO of Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, on YouTube, during a legendary testimony during the US Senate in 2019. Simon just blew our mind, so it had been an ambition for this...

15 Feb 202332min

91. The radical transformations of the PPA market - Feb23

91. The radical transformations of the PPA market - Feb23

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are private contracts between a producer of renewable energy and consumers. The PPA was developing consistently, mainly driven by Utilities. Then 2022 arrived and we w...

1 Feb 202327min

90. Blockchain, BigTech and 24/7 Green electrons - Jan23

90. Blockchain, BigTech and 24/7 Green electrons - Jan23

Everybody wants to buy 24/7 green electrons, but until recently, it has proven quite difficult. Most buyers of Green Energy are currently purchasing their electrons on a yearly basis, and furthermore ...

16 Jan 202330min

89. Our Predictions for 2023 - Jan23

89. Our Predictions for 2023 - Jan23

Happy new year 2023 to all our listeners. In this Episode, it is Nostradamus vs. Cassandra all over again: Laurent and Gerard review their 2022 predictions (Episode 65) and look forward to the future....

2 Jan 202330min

88. The Solar Juggernaut - dec22

88. The Solar Juggernaut - dec22

Another year of explosive growth for the Solar Industry: production above 300GW, +45% yoy. What’s behind this staggering growth? How are the supply chain evolving? What are the “Fab four” and what new...

15 Des 202231min

87. Inflection point for Biogas/Biomethane - dec22

87. Inflection point for Biogas/Biomethane - dec22

The biogas/biomethane industry is now one of the promising segments of the Energy Transition: security of supply, renewables sources, local jobs, round the clock dispatchability; the industry ticks al...

1 Des 202230min

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