Newsletter 
Summary: Google’s AI data centers are driving a 50% spike in emissions since 2019, and the company’s solution is, ironically, even more AI. It has announced a partnership with PJM Interconnection and by using its Tapestry platform, Google hopes to streamline grid expansion and fast-track clean energy to meet soaring AI electricity demands.
Powering AI is an energy-guzzling affair. The amount of power AI data centers consume is astounding. So what’s the solution? Well, Trump thinks coal is the answer. But Google? Google thinks more AI is the answer. This is why Google has announced it is developing AI tools to help create a more efficient electricity system.
Using AI to power AI
In its latest environmental report, the company revealed that its emissions have spiked nearly 50% since 2019. This is mostly due to its AI data centers, which are consuming more power than ever. And Google’s answer involves even more AI.
The company has announced a partnership with PJM Interconnection, one of the largest electrical grid operators in the US. Their goal is to build a smarter, faster, more reliable electricity system to keep up with growing demand, especially from energy-hungry AI tools.
According to Google’s Ruth Porat, the project aims to make power cheaper and more reliable for the 67 million people covered by PJM.
This plan taps into an Alphabet project called Tapestry. By using AI, they want to untangle the complex, slow process of adding new power sources to the grid. Google says that the “current interconnection process” is one of the bottlenecks when it comes to deploying new electricity generation.
This is where Tapestry comes in. It will use AI to “streamline and accelerate” the process. According to Google, “By integrating the dozens of existing databases and tools used to evaluate interconnection requests into a single unified model of PJM’s network, Tapestry will develop a secure platform where grid planners and project developers can collaborate. The platform aims to accelerate the data ingestion and grid planning process, enabling more projects to send power to the grid and meet the region’s electricity needs as affordably as possible.”
Google is accelerating new energy tech across the board
Google’s also looking beyond just this one project. They say they’re accelerating new energy tech across the board, including geothermal and nuclear. If AI growth keeps up at this pace, Google is going to need every ounce of electricity it can get.