Amazon Battles Berkshire Utility As AI's Energy Needs Surge

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is running into a different kind of bottleneck in its AI race not chips or talent, but electricity. The company has filed a complaint in Oregon, accusing PacifiCorp, a Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) utility, of not delivering enough power for four new data centers meant to support its growing cloud and AI operations. According to Bloomberg, one site got only part of its promised supply, another got none at all, and two others are stuck waiting for contracts to be completed.

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The fight highlights a growing problem for Big Tech: the grid simply isn't keeping up with the explosive energy needs of AI. Goldman Sachs recently estimated that data centers could consume up to 4% of the world's electricity by 2030, double today's levels. A single rack of AI servers can use enough power to supply hundreds of homes.

For investors, the message is clear the AI boom isn't just about silicon and software anymore. The next big challenge may be finding enough power to keep the lights and the servers on.

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