Millions to receive free electricity in 2026 thanks to Australia’s solar boom
Australia now has so much solar power that the government will require utilities to sell customers free electricity for three hours per day.
Climate
Google has a ‘moonshot’ plan for AI data centers in space
Google has dreamed up a potential new way to get around resource constraints for energy-hungry AI data centers on Earth — launching its AI chips into space on solar-powered satellites. It’s a ‘moonshot’ research project Google announced today called Project Suncatcher. If it can ever get off the ground, the project would essentially create space-based […]
Altman and Nadella need more power for AI, but they’re not sure how much
The CEOs of OpenAI and Microsoft are betting that AI will continue to consume more electricity, but they’re not sure how much. That could leave some investors holding the bag.
Rising energy prices put AI and data centers in the crosshairs
A majority of consumers say they’re worried about data centers driving up electricity costs. Is the industry prepared for a possible backlash?
Meta bought 1 GW of solar this week
The social media company inked three deals in the U.S. to power its data centers and offset its carbon footprint.
Another shuttered nuclear power plant is getting new life, thanks to Big Tech
Google announced plans to revive a nuclear power plant that shut down in 2020, as it looks to secure enough electricity for its AI data centers. The company announced a 25-year agreement with NextEra Energy to eventually purchase electricity from the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a 615MW nuclear plant in Iowa, when it starts operating […]
How one mountain town hopes AI can help it fight wildfires
A popular ski resort town in Colorado is adopting a new AI Smart City Solution from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to help it better detect wildfires, as well as update a range of other city services. Vail is expanding its firefighting toolbox as hotter, more arid weather with climate change raises wildfire risk in the […]
Google to bring shuttered nuclear power plant back from the dead
Google is working with NextEra to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa to power the tech companies data centers.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Day 3
This is the third and final day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Register here to get a 50% discount and don’t miss out on innovation and scaling. Disrupt won’ come back for another year.
Why is Bill Gates tone policing on climate change?
Bill Gates wants us all to be more upbeat about climate change. He argues that we’ve made great progress on the problem, aided in large part by technological advances. So it’s time to focus more on improving people’s lives, particularly by fighting hunger and disease, he writes in a memo published Tuesday. Of course, he […]