AI's Energy Problem, Explained
The Wall Street Journal·2026-01-17 16:00
Most people don't think about infrastructure unless it fails. A train stalls, a bridge collapses, or storm drains overflow, and your basement floods. We take this infrastructure for granted, but the rise of artificial intelligence is forcing a closer look.Training large AI models requires city-sized amounts of power. And by 2028, data centers are expected to consume up to 12% of all US electricity. That's up from just 4% last year.Last winter, the country faced elevated blackout risks. These systems pull hu ...