Geothermal power could meet 64 percent of electricity demand from data centers “economically” by the early 2030s if developers follow current building trends, providing a way to cut emissions and expand artificial intelligence infrastructure at the same time, according to a new report.
The analysis from the Rhodium Group comes as Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been pushing for geothermal power and companies like Microsoft and Google have been grappling with how to expand AI without undermining their low-carbon targets. Unlike many other renewables, geothermal has the advantage of being able to provide power nearly around the clock, a requirement for data center’s huge energy needs, the report said.
“We’re at a potential major expansion point” for geothermal, said Ben King, an associate director in Rhodium’s energy and climate practice and co-author of the report.
If technology developers would site data centers near the best geothermal resources, the technology could meet all the electricity demand from the AI surge by the early 2030s, rather than just 64 percent, the analysis found. In that case, the cost would be 31 to 45 percent lower than what would occur if companies followed the current “clustered” approach, siting data centers first and figuring out their power sources after the fact.
