In this Business English News lesson on data centers, we look at business English vocabulary related to energy supply and tech.

AI seemed relatively uncontroversial when it was limited to simple functions in your toothbrush or car. But then, in 2022, ChatGPT made an enormous splash, signaling the commercialization of generative AI. Since then, there’s been a rapid proliferation of new tools. And the popularity of these tools has necessitated massive infrastructure to support all this computing power.

The energy demand is huge. In 2024, U.S. data centers used 183 terawatt-hours of electricity – more than 4% of all U.S. power usage. A single large AI data center can use as much electricity as 100,000 homes in a year. Bigger ones under construction may use twenty times more. This growing demand puts pressure on local power grids and can lead to increased energy costs.

They also need large amounts of water to keep their machines cool, which can strain local water supplies. Yet companies are not required to fully report their energy or water use.

As concerns grow about higher bills, water shortages, and climate change, companies promise cleaner energy and better technology. Still, experts warn that AI’s energy use may grow faster than these improvements.

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