AI, Energy and Climate Podcast

Increasing power prices are a hot topic in the United States. Last week the Trump administration, eight Democratic governors and five Republican governors announced a plan to protect households in mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states from paying more for electricity because of electricity demand from data centers. Join host David Sandalow as he talks with Peter Fox-Penner, a leading expert on electricity markets, to discuss the causes of power price increases, the role of data centers, the recent bipartisan agreement in the PJM region, and more.  

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AI’s huge energy needs are getting enormous media attention. AI’s potential to make energy more secure, clean and affordable is getting less attention. What would it take for AI’s impact on the energy system to be net-positive? What would that mean exactly? What examples help show the potential for AI to make positive contributions to the energy system? Join host David Sandalow as he discusses these topics and a new report called From Paradox to Progress: A Net-Positive AI Energy Framework with one of the report’s lead authors -- Ginelle Greene-Dewasmes, AI and Energy Lead at the World Economic Forum.

https://www.weforum.org/publications/from-paradox-to-progress-a-net-positive-ai-energy-framework/

https://icef.go.jp/wp-content/themes/icef_new/pdf/roadmap/icef2025_roadmap.pdf

https://icef.go.jp/wp-content/themes/icef_new/pdf/roadmap/icef2024_roadmap_AI-Climate-Second-Edition.pdf

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How significant is data center water use? Is it tiny in relation to other sectors, significant in some water-stressed regions, or both? Can new liquid-based cooling technologies which (perhaps counter-intuitively) need less water than traditional air-based cooling technologies help? Join host David Sandalow as he discusses these topics and more with three coauthors of the new Sustainable Data Centers Roadmap -- Alexis Abramson (Dean of the Columbia Climate School), Julio Friedmann (Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct) and Angela Yuan (a master's degree  candidate at the University of Cambridge). 

ICEF Sustainable Data Centers Roadmap -- icef.go.jp/roadmap 

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Amory Lovins has been a leading thinker on energy policy for more than 50 years. Several months ago he wrote an article with the provocative title "Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Stupidity." As the title suggests, Lovins is skeptical about AI in a number of respects – in particular about the electricity it will require. Listen as host David Sandalow talks with Lovins about AI power demand forecasts, the role of natural gas and renewables, AI in education, a proposal to require all payments to electric utilities by new large loads such as data centers to be bonded or insured, and more.\

Amory Lovins, Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Stupidity (May 2025), https://integrative-design-for-radical-energy-efficiency.stanford.edu/sites/extreme_energy_efficiency/files/media/file/data-centersaiel-dr-16-10-may-2025.pdf

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After a pause over the summer, we’re restarting the AI, Energy and Climate Podcast with a conversation between Jennifer Granholm, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Governor of Michigan, and host David Sandalow. Sec. Granholm explains why she’s an “AI optimist,” sounds several notes of caution on AI and describes where she agrees and disagrees with Trump administration policies. 

AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap -- https://www.icef.go.jp/roadmap and transitiondigital.org/ai-climate-roadmap.
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