By Geoff Russell
Publication Date: 2026-01-05 05:32:00
As artificial intelligence slowly takes over the world – and accounts for more than its fair share of our energy consumption – pressure is growing on AI companies to go “green” and power their massive data centers with renewable energy. But are the numbers – and not just those associated with profits – actually correct? Geoff Russell wades into the swamp.
A recent Australian Financial Review article reported that our renewable resources are being praised for giving us some head start in the data center boom. I would suggest that whenever you see the term “renewable energy superpower” you should ask for the numbers. That’s a great phrase to captivate naive investors, but is it more than that?
It is very difficult to judge the size and power requirements of a data center from a picture. The image above shows a small pair of data centers in Holland. They could supply this pair with a trio of icebreaker-sized nuclear power plants. In contrast, the large data centers are being built…
