Schatz urges tech companies to invest in clean energy to meet surging AI demands

With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence resulting in an unprecedented demand for energy, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on leading tech companies to invest in new clean energy in order to power their data centers.

Doing so, Schatz told tech leaders gathered at the Special Competitive Studies Project’s AI+Energy Summit last week, would ensure AI grows alongside clean energy, rather than at the expense of it.

Schatz’s comments come as estimates predict AI data center power demand will grow by 160% by 2030 and tech companies’ emissions are already rising by as much as 50%. Schatz, a leader on climate policy in the Senate, highlighted instances across the country where utilities are postponing the retirement of coal plants – or building new gas ones – in order to meet growing energy demand, in part from AI data centers.

“Let’s be really clear: extending and expanding the use of fossil fuels to enable AI growth is not an acceptable outcome. Nothing is worth the safety of the planet,” said Schatz. “But this doesn’t have to be a zero-sum proposition. We don’t have to pick one over the other: between relinquishing American leadership and competitiveness in AI or saving the planet. Instead, what we need is for companies to devote the necessary resources to make sure AI runs on clean energy.”

Schatz highlighted federal tax credits available under the Inflation Reduction Act that are making it more affordable to develop new clean energy projects, from wind and solar to advanced nuclear and geothermal energy. He also welcomed recent examples of tech companies partnering with utilities and energy companies to plan and pay for new clean energy generation.

“Congress has done its part here,” Schatz said. “We’ve made clean energy projects attractive and feasible investments. Now it’s up to many of you here today to help deploy these clean technologies at scale. The good news is: scaling is part of what you do best. And so I’m confident that you can step up to the challenge.”

Schatz concluded, “The next decade will be decisive – both for climate and for AI. And it’s up to all of us not to pit the 2 against each other; not to be forced into a false choice, but to treat them as important priorities that can thrive together if we work together. There’s no reason energy and AI innovation can’t go hand-in-hand, but we have to make it so.”