Stargate will partially adopt renewable energy to meet power demands
What's the story
The ambitious Stargate project, a collaboration between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank Group, will be partially powered by solar energy and batteries.
The initiative aims to establish several new data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
SB Energy, a SoftBank Group subsidiary specializing in renewable power installations, will be constructing these facilities, according to Bloomberg's report.
Project details
Stargate's initial phase includes 10 data centers in Texas
The Stargate project, announced by US President Donald Trump, marks a major investment in AI infrastructure.
The three partnering companies—SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle—are forming a $100 billion joint venture to fund the project, which is also open to outside investors.
The first phase of the project involves building 10 data centers in Texas. However, do note that renewable energy sources aren't likely to be the only power supply for this venture.
Energy demand
Data centers' power consumption set to triple by 2028
The rapid expansion of cloud computing and AI has resulted in a growing demand for power.
The US Department of Energy estimates that by 2028, data centers may consume as much as 12% of all US-produced power, a sharp rise from the current consumption rate of 4.4%.
This spike in energy usage could leave half of the new data centers with power shortages by 2027.
Nuclear shift
Tech giants turn to nuclear power for data centers
As energy demand continues to rise, many tech giants are looking at nuclear power as a solution.
Google has signed a 500MW deal with nuclear start-up Kairos, while Microsoft is reactivating a decommissioned reactor at Three Mile Island.
Separately, data center operator Switch also announced a deal in December with Oklo for 12GW of capacity.
Nuclear hurdles
Challenges and delays in nuclear power development
Despite the increasing interest in nuclear power, the sector has struggled with cost overruns and project delays.
Newer nuclear start-ups hope to tackle these problems by modularizing and mass-producing reactor components, which could speed up approvals and construction of new plants.
However, none of these start-ups have completed a reactor yet, with commercial reactors not expected until 2030.
Renewable advantage
Solar and wind farms: A faster alternative for power generation
Compared to nuclear and natural gas plants, solar and wind farms can be constructed in about half the time.
Recent estimates indicate that a solar power plant takes about 18 months to complete on average.
Thanks to their modularity, these facilities can even start generating power before the whole project is completed.
This makes them a potentially viable option for powering data centers amid growing energy demands.