On the afternoon of May 13, Beijing time, Sina Technology News reported that Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said in an exclusive interview with YouTube podcaster Dwarkesh Patel that the shortage of AI chips that has plagued the industry for a long time is basically over, but the energy supply problem will become the next major bottleneck.
Zuckerberg said that as the shortage of AI GPUs comes to an end, companies will be forced to invest a lot of money to build things, such as data centers. But before capital becomes an issue, the industry will face energy restrictions.
To support this view, Zuckerberg said that many new data centers are consuming 50 megawatts to 100 megawatts of electricity, with the very large ones even reaching 150 megawatts. Based on this trend, data centers consume 300 or 500 megawatts, or even 1,000 megawatts of electricity, which seems to be just a matter of time.
In response, Zuckerberg asked: How long can this exponential AI training and energy curve last? This issue has brought energy production into the spotlight. Zuckerberg stressed that energy production may soon become an investment hotspot.
But building a new power station isn't an easy task. Considering regulations (particularly nuclear energy), transmission line planning and construction, it can take many years from drawing up a plan to delivering electricity to the grid.
There have been reports before that many businesses are consuming large amounts of electricity. At the same time, US states are trying to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel power generation, making attracting key companies while ensuring their energy supply is like walking a tightrope. Further complicating matters is the supply and demand relationship, which will affect consumer prices and supply.
Looking ahead, flexibility seems to be the key to solving this problem. Examples include using various energy sources such as solar and wind energy; using batteries for peak management; using nuclear energy when available; and pragmatically using fossil fuel resources as needed.
According to reports, Meta is partnering with a Georgia solar developer called Silicon Ranch to help power its data centers.