The Deep View: AI could cause a power shortfall. Comment: Ireland and UK need to be alert to shortage of fossil fuels and gas. We need to follow Hungary.

Posted on November 14, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

ENERGY AI could cause a power shortfall

AI firms continue planning astronomical AI infrastructure. But can the US power supply hack it?  Anthropic has joined the slew of AI firms investing billions in massive data centers throughout the US.

On Wednesday, the company announced that it would invest $50 billion in American AI infrastructure, starting with data centers in Texas and New York, in partnership with Fluidstack. Anthropic joins OpenAI, Nvidia, Oracle, Softbank and more in the race to develop these sites and evolve its AI models.

But the power demands of these data centers may exceed the power grid’s capacity. In a note published earlier this week, Morgan Stanley analysts warned that AI demand could leave the US with a “power shortfall totaling as much as 20%” for data centers through 2028, reaching a deficit of up to 13 gigawatts. Though tech leaders claim that the need for compute is the biggest problem facing the evolution of AI, energy supply and grid reliability present an even greater risk.

The problem is that the building and deploying of these colossal server farms is far, far outpacing utility companies’ ability to upgrade the grid, Sebastian Lombardi, chair of the energy and utilities practice at law firm Day Pitney, told The Deep View.

While the problem is currently deepest felt in “pockets” of the US that have high concentrations of data centers, it’s only a matter of time before the stress on the grid and energy demand are felt all over the country, he said, possibly resulting in issues with reliability and affordability for utility payers.

The rapid pace and magnitude of these buildouts are leaving utility companies and regulators scrambling to play catch-up.“The AI data center story has complicated things. It’s created some questions about how we are going to maintain reliability,” said Lombardi. “The amount of energy that is expected to be used to power that infrastructure is quite significant.”Despite the issue at hand, tech firms show no signs of tempering their all-out sprint. The solution might be what Lombardi calls an “all of the above” strategy for increasing the energy supply. This means a sharper focus on renewable energy, as well as more stakeholders buying into the “renaissance” that nuclear power is having. Even moonshot ideas, such as Google’s space-based Suncatcher data centers, could be worth exploring. “We all want the lights to stay on,” said Lombardi. “We may have to get away from picking winners and losers if we’re going to meet the pace and the magnitude of demand.”However, how much help these tech companies will be in solving the problem that they’re effectively causing, especially as many struggle with their net-zero goals, is still unclear.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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