In the global north, globalization of science and accelerating growth of exponential technologies (nano-scale materials, VLSI, AI, and additive manufacturing) are changing every aspect of societybut access to energy is often the enabler and/or the constraint. AI datacenters rated at 1GW each, with over 130 GW planned in the United States alone, are causing utilities to propose massive grid overbuild along unprecedented and aggressive timelines, resulting in increasing costs for their everyday consumers. This, in turn, is creating community pushback, as electricity costs increase and water use is impacted.
In response to the push to build a large number of AI datacenters and assessing the overall impact on their grid, 30 U.S. states have legislation requiring datacenters to carry the full cost of any new grid infrastructure built and to sign 10-15-year minimum payment contracts. New grid infrastructure build is extremely slow and can be very expensive, especially when the cost cannot be distributed over the entire customer base. The need for faster ”time to token” is pushing AI datacenter owners and operators along a different path-Bring Your Own Power (BYOP), in which case regulatory constraints are minimal.
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