You know that data centers for AI and crypto are eating up electric power generation capacity at a terrific rate. At MarketWatch, retired General Duncan McNabb suggests the energy demands of data centers could put U.S. national security at risk. He first explains that the U.S. power grid is fragile and that America desperately needs more power. He then concludes:
The Department of Defense is already the single largest user of electricity in the U.S. and accounts for 76% of the federal government’s energy consumption. Defense and energy security have always been linked, and AI is another point of intersection where we must keep our national security interests as our North Star.
We have a menu of solutions — and we will have to take an all-of-the-above approach to tackle a challenge of this magnitude.
We must increase our capacity to generate more power while also building out and updating the transmission infrastructure — much of it aging and outdated — that brings energy to our communities. Wind, solar and other renewable-energy sources must be complemented with traditional generation.
After decades of stagnation, the conversation on nuclear power and small, modular nuclear reactors is shifting: Congress recently voted 365-36 in favor of the Atomic Energy Advancement Act. Nuclear must be part of the conversation on solutions.
Finally, we must continue the important work of decoupling the U.S. energy system supply chain from adversaries by onshoring and friend-shoring the essential components for our energy transition — and bolstering the security of our grid infrastructure at the state and federal level.
A reliable and secure power grid is the lifeblood of the American economy and vital to the defense of this country. We must treat the challenges facing this essential piece of infrastructure with the urgency they deserve. America’s position as a force for democratic values in the world depends on it.
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