Solar energy and batteries are making it easier for utilities to meet surging electricity demand during extreme heat , but prolonged high temperatures are exposing other vulnerabilities in the grid. Why it matters: Electricity demand rises as air conditioners work harder in extreme heat, while high temperatures can make parts of the system less efficient and put additional stress on equipment. The big picture: Climate change is extending periods of extreme heat just as electrification and data centers add new loads, leaving parts of the grid working harder for longer. Between the lines: Michael Webber, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin, tells Axios that grid operators face a "triple whammy" under…
The AI boom is pushing companies across the economy — from tech giants to automakers — deep into the energy business. Why it matters: The scramble for electricity has become the gold rush beneath the AI boom, creating enormous financial value and enormous risk if demand falls short. Driving the news: Electricity — long treated as a cheap, abundant commodity — is suddenly emerging as one of the most valuable strategic assets in business. - "Everyone to some extent is either dependent on energy as a core input or they see energy as a huge opportunity," said Brian Janous, who was Microsoft's first energy hire 15 years ago and is now co-founder of data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. The latest: Ford unveiled earlier this…
Automotive journalist Gary Gastelu joins “The Hill” to talk about Ford’s plan to convert EV battery plants into energy-storage facilities for data centers: “This is a bonus if it works out … and it looks like, in the short term, it’s going to.” #Autos #Ford #DataCenters "The Hill on NewsNation" combines the power of two trusted news sources to define today's most-pressing issues, and question Washington's power brokers on what matters most to the people they serve and what matters most to Americans.
Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta are teaming up with a nonprofit investor to accelerate new technologies using data centers as test cases. Why it matters: The initiative, led by Elemental Impact, is among the clearest attempts yet to turn the massive buildout of AI infrastructure into a proving ground for new technologies rather than just a new source of emissions. - Those technologies include advanced cooling, energy storage and low-carbon building materials. "We see data centers as really important customers for entrepreneurs to commercialize technologies that we've been working on for a long time," said Dawn Lippert, CEO and founder of Elemental Impact, the nonprofit investment firm spearheading the initiative. The big picture: The…
The company, long focused on cars and trucks, plans to begin manufacturing large batteries used by utilities, data centers, other businesses and homeowners.
