AI Boom May Lock In Natural Gas Dependence for Decades

AI Expansion Drives Energy Demand

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is sending global energy consumption soaring. Training and deploying large AI models requires significant computational power from data centers, leading to an increased load on the power grid. As demand outpaces the ability of renewable sources like wind and solar to scale up quickly, natural gas is becoming the fuel of choice to keep the lights on. This trend risks increasing greenhouse gas emissions at a time when urgent climate action is needed.

Natural Gas: An Unintended AI Side Effect

Experts caution that, despite pledges to cut fossil fuel reliance, the AI boom could commit societies to natural gas for years to come. Renewables often cannot deliver the constant power that high-performance data centers require, making gas a convenient fallback. Without monumental advances in grid infrastructure and energy storage, the data infrastructure powering AI innovations may inadvertently cement natural gas’s role in the global energy mix for decades ahead.