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AI Energy Demand Drives Google’s Emissions Up 48% in Five Years

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05 Jul, 2024

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

Google’s goal of lowering its carbon footprint is in trouble as the technology company’s energy consumption has increased due to the amount of power needed for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

According to the internet giant’s annual environmental report, its greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 13 percent in the past year, due mostly to the AI data centers and supply chains, reported The Guardian. The report said its 2023 emissions had reached 14.3 metric tons.

“As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” the report said.

The internet company has a goal of cutting its total greenhouse gas emissions by half by the end of the decade and using carbon removal to tackle its remaining emissions output, The Hill reported.

Since 2019, Google’s emissions have risen by 48 percent, the report said.

“Reaching net-zero emissions by 2030 is an extremely ambitious goal and we know it won’t be easy. Our approach will continue to evolve and will require us to navigate significant uncertainty — including the uncertainty around the future environmental impact of AI, which is complex and difficult to predict. In addition, solutions for some key global challenges don’t currently exist, and will depend heavily on the broader clean energy transition,” the report stated.

According to estimates from the International Energy Agency, the total electricity consumption by Google’s data centers could be twice those of 2022 levels — 1,000 terawatt hours — in 2026, which is roughly the electricity demand of Japan, The Guardian reported.

The manufacturing and transportation of computer chips and servers needed for use in data center training and deployment also produce a great deal of emissions. AI data centers will use 4.5 percent of the world’s energy by 2030, research firm SemiAnalysis said.

A Google data center in Belgium. Google

Another issue with the AI explosion is water use, with one study saying AI could lead to the water usage equivalent to almost two-thirds of England’s annual consumption by 2027.

Co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates said big tech companies being “seriously willing” to use green energy to power AI would help tackle the climate crisis. The companies have become big investors in renewable energy in an effort to achieve their climate targets.

“AI is at an inflection point and many factors will influence its ultimate impact — including the extent of AI adoption, our ability to mitigate its footprint, and the pace of continued innovation and efficiency,” the Google report said. “While we remain optimistic about AI’s potential to drive positive change, we’re also clear-eyed about its potential environmental impact and the collaborative effort required to navigate this evolving landscape.”

The post AI Energy Demand Drives Google’s Emissions Up 48% in Five Years appeared first on EcoWatch.

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ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

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ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

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