The world has reacted to global warming by changing how we make electricity. Coal plants are being shut down (with no thanks to Trump), in favor of wind power and photovoltaic cells. Now these are even becoming more economically viable in addition to their less harmful effects on the environment. So we can feel good about all that.
But now here comes several new users of electricity that each have rapacious appetites. Bitcoins are created by computers solving difficult mathematical equations. This industry alone has grown to use more electricity than the nation of Poland. We also have online platforms like Youtube and Amazon that take up terrawatt hours of electricity. Now the newest super-consumer is artificial intelligence, which is a huge user. The projection is that “electricity demand from data centres worldwide is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today. AI will be the most significant driver of this increase, with electricity demand from AI-optimised data centres projected to more than quadruple by 2030 “ [https://www.iea.org/news/ai-is-set-to-drive-surging-electricity-demand-from-data-centres-while-offering-the-potential-to-transform-how-the-energy-sector-works].
So on the one hand, we are making greener electricity, but on the other hand, the demand is growing so fast that we may not be able to keep up. This will increase pressure to re-open mothballed coal and gas plants. And there goes all the effort to help prevent global warming. There needs to be discussion about what is more important, our freedom to make AI cat videos, or a livable planet?
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