The growth of artificial intelligence data centers nationwide is adding stress to fragile power grids and may be distorting the flow of electricity needed to fuel millions of Americans' homes and cities, according to a new analysis.
As a result, billions of dollars in damages could take place to home appliances and aging power equipment while the normal flow of electricity is distorted, particularly in areas such as Chicago and an area in Northern Virginia called "data center alley," reported Bloomberg.
The analysis shows that more than 75% of highly distorted power readings are being experienced within 50 miles of data center activity. While many of the data centers are located near large urban areas, rural areas are also experiencing the issue.
The technical term, "bad harmonics," describes what happens when wave patterns deviate from what is considered ideal levels and distort power flowing into homes.
As a result, home electronics can run hot and motors in large appliances can rattle, damaging the appliances.
Surges and lags in electrical supplies can also lead to sparks and home fires.
The bad harmonics being experienced now are a "pretty good canary in the coal mine for early signs of stress and problems," according to Bob Marshall, CEO of Whisker Labs Inc.
Whisker Labs uses roughly 1 million residential sensors to track power quality in real time. Nearly 90% of the homes in the United States lie within a half-mile of one of the sensors.
Bloomberg's analysis of the sensor information and data from DC Byte, a market intelligence firm, showed there is a strong link between the proximity to AI data centers and harmonics that are becoming worse.
The analysis, conducted from February through October, further showed that the worst problems with power quality are found within 20 miles of data center activity. According to census figures, about 3.7 million Americans live in those areas.
In addition to damaging equipment and appliances, poor power quality can lead to brownouts and blackouts.
The stress on the power systems also comes as more electricity is being used than ever, including with the increased growth in the electric vehicle industry.
The United States is now the world's largest data center operator. In Northern Virginia, the hub has more than twice the operational capacity as Beijing, its nearest rival, estimates from Bloomberg Intelligence show.
But other nations, including Ireland, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia, are rushing to build data centers, compounding the pressures on power systems.
Meanwhile, there has not been enough investment in the U.S. power grid to ready it for the growing power demand.
According to a recent report from Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Grid Strategies, the nation's demand for electricity is expected to grow by almost 16% — more than triple what estimates from just a year ago had predicted. This means the harmonics issue could become worse.
Aman Joshi, chief commercial officer of Bloom Energy Corp., said that with the energy consumption for AI being more volatile, "no grid is designed to be able to handle that kind of load fluctuation not only for one data center but for multiple data centers at the same time."
Some solutions are already being worked on, including a requirement in Virginia that new data centers have their own substation and transformer before coming online, according to Dominion Power, which serves most of the data centers in Loudon County.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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