'US behind race with China on building out energy for AI, Constellation CEO says'

 The U.S. is "very behind" China in the race to build up energy to feed artificial intelligence data centers, and if building more power plants as quickly as China is the strategy to keep pace with the AI infrastructure expansion, "we're in some trouble," Constellation Energy (CEG) CEO Joseph Dominguez said Tuesday.

China has built the entirety of the U.S. electric system plus 50% more in terms of capacity since 2010, but the U.S. can catch up if it uses its grid more efficiently, Dominguez said at Semafor World Economy in Washington, D.C., noting the U.S. is now less industrialized, which means power demand is no longer around the clock, compared to China.

"If we could manage the peak energy demands, we [would] have a lot of slack in the system we could take advantage of," the CEO said, adding that American consumers could possibly end up with lower energy prices if the strategy is successful.

Asked about local opposition to data center construction, Dominguez said it is "imperative that we win this... for the defense of the nation and our way of life," adding that the U.S. needs a national policy in place instead of state-by-state approvals for power projects.

"If NIMBYism becomes the reason we lose the AI race, for whatever reason, we're in a whole lot of trouble in this country," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/us-behind-race-with-china-on-building-out-energy-for-ai-constellation-ceo-says/ar-AA20TR0x