Mar 19, 2024 - Technology

Gas execs see tailwinds from AI power needs

Ben Geman

Illustration of a glowing lightning bolt symbol filled with binary code. — Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

HOUSTON — Gas industry officials are citing power-thirsty artificial intelligence growth and data center needs more broadly as they project strong future demand.

Why it matters: Generative AI is joining with other advanced computing, electric vehicles, crypto-mining, new manufacturing and more to start sending U.S. power demand sharply upward after many years of largely flat consumption.

State of play: "AI and data centers are going to require a lot more energy, and that means a lot more energy produced," Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, told Axios recently.

"They're going to need energy that can run 24 hours. And what that means is we're going to need a lot more natural gas."
And Mike Sabel, CEO of LNG heavyweight Venture Global, told reporters Sunday that global power needs for AI are among the reasons why they see a robust long-term market.

Friction point: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm noted Monday that some tech companies are ensuring "clean" power fuels data centers, but added more is needed.

"I think for utilities and for data centers ... there's a different conversation that needs to be had about, if you want to build a data center, can you bring your own clean power with you, what does that look like," she told CERAWeek.

What's next: Look for AI growth to increasingly factor into energy market analyses — and policy battles.

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Gas execs see tailwinds from AI power needs

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