AI Consumes 10x More Power Than Google Search, Arizona Welcomes AI Data Centers

Power consumption in Arizona is set to explode in the coming years as more and more data centers convert to AI.

PHOENIX — Arizona is bracing for a significant spike in power consumption due to the increasing number of data centers that utilize generative AI technology.

Generative AI, a type of artificial intelligence that autonomously creates photographic or video content, is at the core of this energy demand surge. According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), generative AI technology consumes ten times the power required for a simple Google search.

“We’ve got all the cloud providers,” stated Mark Bauer, a data center broker from JLL. “The Apples, the Googles, the Microsofts, AWS, they’re all here.”

Bauer, who specializes in buying and selling data centers, notes that his business is thriving and expects further growth.

Arizona ranks as the second-most favored state for data center development in the United States. These facilities are emerging across the Valley, from areas near the 202 Freeway and 40th Street to both the East and West Valleys.

The data centers are immense server farms, often equipped with their own power substations and cooling systems to maintain the computers inside. As the technology advances, so do the power requirements. “Used to be 50 acres and maybe 100 megawatts,” Bauer said. “Our new requirement is we need 200-plus acres and we’d like to have at least 500 megawatts of power or more.”

Bauer predicts that power availability will be a primary challenge over the next five years, potentially running out of power before land resources.

EPRI, which conducted a study on AI power consumption, pointed out that sporadic AI requests are manageable. However, widespread adoption leading to millions of requests every second poses a critical challenge. Apple has recently announced AI integration in its upcoming iPhone model, further escalating the demand.

“The challenge right now for the utilities is meeting the growth demand in a timely manner,” explained David Porter, a researcher at EPRI.

Both Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Public Service (APS) assert they have prepared for future power demands driven by AI. APS anticipates these needs and claims to have projected power usage for the next 15 years.