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Picture this. You are in the middle of an intense boss fight. Arrows flying from all directions. Beastly creatures are after you and in the midst of it all you spot a large dragon who lands right in the middle of action. You quickly change your weapon choice and instruct your companions to fight the dragon with you. However, just before you could attack, you run into a system error and have to restart the game all over again. Trust me, we have all been there. But this wasn’t the case with the newly-launched Dragon Age: The Veilguard. <div type="image" title="3" msid="116133701" hostid="261" sizebytes="1807404"></div> This is a game that pushes both graphical fidelity and hardware performance, delivering a breathtaking journey through a richly detailed fantasy world. With my PC armed with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800 X3D processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super GPU, 32 GB DDR5 RAM, I was able to get a great experience with this game. Let us take a look at how the game performed with different settings. <h2>The sweet spot </h2> Starting with DLSS set to Balanced mode, I tested the game at a resolution of 2560x1440 with ultra graphics and selective <keyword id="20976394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ray-tracing" source="keywords">ray tracing</keyword>. Without frame generation, the gameplay clocked in at 90 FPS, offering smooth visuals. Enabling frame generation and turning off V-Sync cranked the frame rate up to 140 FPS, significantly enhancing responsiveness during combat and exploration. <div type="image" title="6" msid="116133722" hostid="261" sizebytes="1410873"></div> Lowering the resolution to 1080p further pushed the performance to 180-190 FPS with frame generation, and 120-110 FPS without it, making the gameplay exceptionally fluid. <h2>Prioritising visual fidelity </h2> Switching to Nvidia <keyword id="24385578" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="DLSS-Quality-mode" source="keywords">DLSS Quality mode</keyword>, which focuses on visual excellence over raw performance, I saw fantastic results. At 1080p resolution with ultra graphics and frame generation off, the game maintained an average of 118 FPS. Returning to 2K resolution with Quality DLSS, Nvidia Reflex set to “On + Boost,” and frame generation enabled, the frame rates ranged between 130-150 FPS. The experience was smooth and visually stunning, with every texture rendered in incredible detail. In some scenarios, frame rates even spiked to 180-200 FPS, peaking at 220 FPS in less graphically intense areas. I spent hours exploring the vast world with this setting, marvelling at various scenes it had to offer. The environment artists have really done a fabulous job and the game looks breathtaking. <div type="image" title="4" msid="116133742" hostid="261" sizebytes="1234786"></div> When I switched DLSS to Performance mode at 2K resolution, the game delivered around 160 FPS, offering a good balance of visuals and performance. <h2>Prioritising performance </h2> To test the game’s performance, I tweaked around the settings a bit and here is how it went. At 1080p resolution, with Ultra Performance DLSS, frame rates soared to 230-250 FPS, with only a slight reduction in visual quality—barely noticeable unless scrutinised. To explore maximum performance potential, I switched from ultra to high graphics settings with ray tracing off, DLSS set to Ultra Performance, and frame generation enabled. This unleashed astonishing frame rates of 300-350 FPS, showing that at lower graphical presets, the game resulted in almost unbelievable frame rates without a drop. The visual quality was noticeably reduced but the game wasn’t unplayable. You still will get to see some gorgeous scenarios, even with these graphic settings. <div type="image" title="7" msid="116133766" hostid="261" sizebytes="991975"></div> Reverting DLSS to Quality mode under these settings still delivered an average of 260 FPS, proving the rig’s capability to handle demanding titles like Dragon Age: The Veilguard with ease. <h2>Ray Tracing: A visual feast</h2>The pinnacle of visual fidelity in the game came with DLSS Quality mode with ultra graphics, ray-traced reflections, and ambient occlusion at 2K. With these settings enabled, I got an average of 110-120. Even during intense battle sequences, frame rates rarely dipped below 100 FPS. The realistic reflections and intricate lighting effects made environments come alive, with highlights like walking through water puddles becoming a jaw-dropping experience. <div type="image" title="5" msid="116133782" hostid="261" sizebytes="1046215"></div> Thus, Dragon Age: Veilguard delivered a stellar performance on my custom water-cooled system, thanks to NVIDIA's 4070 Super GPU and DLSS option. Whether you’re a player who prioritises ultra-smooth gameplay or one who revels in visual splendour, the game offers a wide range of configurations to suit your preferences. With its flexibility in settings, Dragon Age: Veilguard proves to be a masterfully optimised title that caters to both performance enthusiasts and visual connoisseurs. On my rig, the game performed brilliantly, making every battle, exploration, and story moment a seamless experience. Whether you’re walking through shimmering puddles or taking down foes in epic battles, this is a journey that will keep you hooked for hours.

Dragon Age The Veilguard performance review: How Nvidia 4070 Super GPU powers this aesthetic marvel

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Oil prices ended down 7% last week and are lower this year-to-date, despite Middle East tensions.</li><li>China's economic downturn, the US shale boom, and clean energy are contributing to current oil price trends.</li></ul>The oil markets aren't what they used to be, and two of the world's biggest producers of the commodity are feeling the pressure.Oil prices have been depressed this year because <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-price-today-middle-east-israel-hezbollah-conflict-china-economy-2024-10">China</a> — the world's largest oil importer — is in a prolonged economic downturn. The US' massive boom in oil production over the last 15 years has also kept prices low.Now, Saudi Arabia and Russia are both trying to diversify their economies away from energy, which makes up about 40% and 20% of their GDP, respectively.With the shift, Saudi Arabia and Russia are trying to create new economic engines that can sustain the country for decades, Abishur Prakash, the founder of The Geopolitical Business, a strategy advisory firm in Toronto, told Business Insider.The existential reorientation comes amid what Prakash terms a "geopolitical misalignment," even in the face of a potential supply disruption."The reality is that Middle Eastern oil supplies are in the bull's-eye of geopolitics. A potential back-and-forth between Israel and Iran, which is increasingly likely, will draw in the region's energy ecosystem," he said.But this year, markets have largely shrugged off supply concerns stemming from the Middle East conflict — a break from history, when regional problems sent prices higher.<h2 id="45bcbf13-524d-48a5-aa00-144efa7dd75c">Moving away from oil</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=709&amp;t=6.">Saudi Arabia and Russia</a> tied for the world's second-largest oil producer after the US. Last year, they each accounted for 11% of the world's oil supply.While Saudi Arabia and Russia are still the world's top oil exporters, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61584">US — which posted record oil shipments in 2023 — is fast becoming a competitor</a> for market share.In 2016, Saudi Arabia launched a grand <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vision-2030-saudi-arabia-plan-future-proof-oil-economy-2023-8">Vision 2030</a> plan to transform its oil-dependent economy into a more diversified one that includes tourism and sports as key growth pillars.Recently, the kingdom has been indicating that it's frustrated with low oil prices. It's giving up its $100 per barrel price target and is ready to increase oil output, the <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/1d186f62-5941-4f9e-aef1-7d93a8a696cd">Financial Times</a> reported in late September.This means that Saudi Arabia is looking to corner a larger market share instead of targeting higher profit margins by restricting output.Russia has also expressed a desire to stop over-relying on oil exports."We are moving towards reducing the share of volatile income and reducing Russia's dependence on oil and gas in favor of boosting our domestic economy," Anton Siluanov, Russia's finance minister, told <a target="_blank" href="https://russian.rt.com/business/article/1379636-minfin-anton-siluanov-intervyu">RT Television's Arabic</a> service earlier this month.He said that Russia would instead aim to boost its domestic economy but did not specify how.Russia is already moving its trade eastward to address Western sanctions. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.energyintel.com/00000192-ae46-dc01-adba-efff87000000">Saudi Arabia,</a> too, is looking to sell more oil to developing countries, whose electric vehicle adoption lags behind China and the West.Asia's emerging economies are expected to drive <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/global-oil-demand-prices-supply-opec-us-crude-producers-iea-2024-6">global oil demand</a> over the rest of the decade, as the world's consumption rises from 101.7 million barrels a day in 2023 to 105.6 million barrels per day by 2030, according to a June report from the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.iea.org/news/slowing-demand-growth-and-surging-supply-put-global-oil-markets-on-course-for-major-surplus-this-decade">International Energy Agency</a>.<h2 id="6ae61431-8898-4c52-9abf-24b4a2055996">Prices, renewable energy, and the US all play a role</h2>Despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East over fears of a widening war, oil prices haven't been on the climb.To be sure, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-price-prediction-brent-crude-israel-iran-opec-demand-citi-2024-10">oil prices could still</a> soar if the issues in the Middle East worsen.And there were several price spikes — such as in early October over concerns that Iranian oil facilities could be hit and in August over tensions in the Middle East — but they were shortlived. Oil prices dropped about 7% last week after the concerns subsided.International benchmark <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price">Brent</a> crude futures are down about 4% this year to date to around $74 a barrel, and US <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti">West Texas Intermediate</a> futures are down 1.3% so far this year to around $70 a barrel.A key contributor to the price trend comes from the US, which has witnessed a significant rise in oil production over the last 15 years following the shale oil boom.Matthew Huber, a Syracuse University professor who specializes in energy, climate politics, and resource geography, said the US has nudged Saudi Arabia out of its role as a swing producer."I think the US has now overtaken this role and because we're not in the Middle East, geopolitical conflict there is less impactful," Huber added.Then there's renewable energy."The explosion of electric vehicle adoption in China (and presumably or eventually in the US and Europe) means the writing is on the wall and we're going to reach 'peak demand' for oil sometime soon," said Huber. "It was always a good idea to diversify one's economy away from just oil but now more than ever."<h2 id="f0b0eb00-b6b7-4f2f-9acd-d2d555ca6010">The role of OPEC</h2>The changing dynamics of oil also sharpens the long-standing question of OPEC's influence and relevance. The oil producer group led by Saudi Arabia accounts for about 30% of global crude production."It goes in cycles. They were obviously relevant in the 1970s when they were able to increase prices almost single-handedly," said Huber."But the problem is when oil prices spike, it sends oil companies searching for temporarily profitable oil," he added, referring to the US shale boom as the most recent example.OPEC also faces rifts within its members, who have competing priorities."The big question now is whether OPEC members are all aligned in terms of oil targets," said The Geopolitical Business's Prakash, who added that not all OPEC members may be on board with Saudi Arabia's plan to boost production.A potential Trump presidency in the US could drive <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-election-impact-trump-win-election-financials-energy-rbc-2024-10">domestic oil and gas production.</a>"If OPEC can't bring everybody together, and members go their separate ways, it will lead to a further polarization of the Middle East," said Prakash."Instead of energy bringing the region together, like it did in the past, energy coupled with geopolitics could fragment the Middle East," he said.

2 of the world's biggest oil producers are looking for new ways to power their economies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised that AI will revolutionize the company's ad services.</li><li>But Meta's use of AI for moderating ads may already be putting the company in hot water.</li></ul>During July's earnings call, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg">Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg</a> laid out a vision for his company's valuable ad services once they are further bolstered by artificial intelligence."In the coming years," he said, "AI will be able to generate creative for advertisers as well and will also be able to personalize it as people see it."But as the trillion-dollar company hopes to revolutionize its ad tech, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-earnings-mark-zuckerberg-ai-spending-tech-investors-stock-2024-4">Meta's usage of AI</a> may already have put the company in the hot seat.On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan and Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, sent a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://walberg.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/walberg.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Congressional%20Letter%20to%20Meta%20-%20Illicit%20Drug%20Advertising.pdf">letter</a> to Zuckerberg demanding the CEO answer questions about Meta's advertising services.The letter comes in light of a March <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/u-s-is-investigating-meta-for-role-in-drug-sales-574944cb?mod=Searchresults_pos4&amp;page=1">Wall Street Journal</a> report that revealed how federal prosecutors are probing the company for its role in the illicit sale of drugs on its platforms."Meta appears to have continued to shirk its social responsibility and defy its own community guidelines," the letter said. "Protecting users online, especially children and teenagers, is one of our top priorities. We are continuously concerned that Meta is not up to the task and this dereliction of duty needs to be addressed."Zuckerberg already faced senators who grilled the CEO about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-ceos-face-senate-in-hearing-over-child-sexual-exploitation-2024-1">safety measures for children</a> who use Meta's social media sites. During the senate hearing, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-meta-faced-families-online-child-safety-senate-hearing-2024-1">Zuckerberg stood up and apologized</a> to families who felt that social media use harmed their kids.In July, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/meta-allows-drug-ads-selling-everything-from-opioids-to-cocaine">Tech Transparency Project</a>, a nonprofit watchdog group, reported that Meta continued to make money from hundreds of ads that promoted the sale of illegal or recreational drugs, including cocaine and opioids, which Meta prohibits in its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://transparency.meta.com/policies/ad-standards/">policy</a> regarding ads."Many of the ads made no secret of their intentions, showing photos of prescription drug bottles, piles of pills and powders, or bricks of cocaine, and encouraging users to place orders," the watchdog group wrote."Our systems are designed to proactively detect and enforce against violating content, and we reject hundreds of thousands of ads for violating our drug policies," a Meta spokesperson told Business Insider, reiterating a statement shared with the Journal. "We continue to invest resources and further improve our enforcement on this kind of content. Our hearts go out to those suffering from the tragic consequences of this epidemic — it requires all of us to work together to stop it."The spokesperson did not address how Meta uses AI to moderate ads.<h2 id="ba53f796-1957-4bf8-ad47-88fce5b82bce">Ads poke holes in Meta's AI system</h2>The exact processes for how Meta approves and moderates ads are not public information.What is known is that the company, in part, relies on artificial intelligence to screen content, as reported by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/meta-cocaine-opioids-ads-dea8e0fc">the Journal</a>. The outlet reported that using photos to display the drugs may allow the ads to slip past Meta's moderation system.Here's what <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/204798856225114?id=649869995454285">Meta</a> has revealed about its "ad review system":The company also said it's continuously working to automate the review process further to rely less on humans.But the revelation of ads promoting drugs on Meta's platforms shows how policy-violating content can still slip through its automated system, even while Zuckerberg paints a picture of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-adds-new-generative-ai-to-advertising-tools-details-2024-5">sophisticated ad service</a> that promises improved targeting and creates content for advertisers with generative AI.<h2 id="9e49470f-e2c3-4a18-991f-08d1db0db08d">Meta's bumpy AI rollout</h2>Meta has experienced a bumpy rollout of its AI-powered services outside ad tech.Less than a year after Meta introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-chatbots-assistants-tom-brady-mr-beast-kendall-jenner-2023-9">celebrity AI assistants</a>, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-scraps-kendall-jenner-tom-brady-celebrity-ai-chatbots-2024-8">discontinued the product</a> and focused on allowing users to create their own AI bots.Meta also continues to work out kinks for Meta AI, the company's chatbot and AI assistant, which has been shown to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-asked-ai-chatbots-about-trump-shooting-chatgpt-meta-claude-2024-7">hallucinate answers</a> or, with BI's Rob Price, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-tells-strangers-it-owns-my-phone-number-whatsapp-2024-8">act like a user and hand out his phone number</a> to strangers.The technical and ethical issues that pervade AI products — not just Meta's — concern many top US companies.A survey by Arize AI, which conducts research around AI technology, showed that 56% of Fortune 500 companies view AI as a "risk factor," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/5ee96d38-f55b-4e8a-b5c1-e58ce3d4111f">The Financial Times</a> reported.Sifting by industry, 86% of technology groups, including Salesforce, said that AI presents a business risk, according to the report.Those concerns, however, conflict with tech companies' evident push to implement AI into every corner of their products, even as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-hype-train-profits-valuations-startups-google-openai-2024-7">path toward profitability also remains murky</a>."There are significant risks involved in developing and deploying AI," Meta said in a 2023 annual report, "and there can be no assurance that the usage of AI will enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability."

Meta's use of AI has far from peaked. But the technology may already be getting the company in trouble.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The AI boom will nearly double demand for copper, mining firm BHP told the Financial Times.</li><li>BHP predicts demand will reach 52.5 million tons a year, 72% higher from 2021 levels.</li></ul>A rising <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/copper-price?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">copper</a> shortage is set to intensify as artificial intelligence boosts demand for the red metal by as much as 72% in the coming decades, according to mining giant BHP.Chief Financial Officer Vandita Pant told the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/da407b47-4133-470a-9574-508cee43e107">Financial Times</a> that AI data centers will account for 6% to 7% of copper demand by 2050. These centers currently make up less than 1%, she noted, but there increasing buildout requires more of the red metal.By another measure, BHP expects global demand for copper to rise 52.5 million tons a year by the mid-century, compared to 30.4 million tons in 2021.In recent years, a shortfall in the red metal has sparked concern among industries that depend on it, and commodity experts have forecast the demand-supply imbalance to hike prices through the years to come. Copper is a key material in various economic sectors, used in everything from construction to machinery.Global inventory <a target="_blank" href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/markets/copper-prices-could-soar-33-in-the-next-year-as-global-inventories-hit-lowest-since/2e3c17j?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">hit its lowest levels since 2008 last year</a>, with existing projects failing to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, new mines are not coming online fast enough — it typically takes <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/copper-price-outlook-forecast-record-supply-shortage-metal-demand-commodities-2024-5">15 years to open one.</a>These conditions caused copper prices to peak to a record high in May, though China's economic tumble has helped deflate prices to $9,207 a ton. However, some analysts see the commodity <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/copper-price-best-investment-jeff-currie-commodity-metal-shortage-industry-2024-5?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">rising $15,000</a> to $40,000 as the shortage becomes more apparent.The industry has turned to mergers and acquisitions to increase output. BHP, for example, partnered with Lundin Mining in July to purchase exploration firm Filo for $3 billion, FT reported.But AI will compound demand for copper moving forward, as the metal is a key ingredient in electrifying the data centers that run the technology.Meanwhile, the chips that power the tech are extremely power-intensive, adding to the situation. Bank of America projects that an additional <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/ai-power-grid-demand-utility-bill-outlook-electricity-ev-2024-7">18 to 28 gigawatts of electric capacity will needed by 2026</a>.Previously, the bank also considered copper prices to <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/gold-price-copper-oil-cocoa-commodities-inflation-interest-rates-economy-2024-4">benefit from the expansion of AI data centers.</a> It predicted that the metal could hit $5.44 a pound by 2026, indicating 27% upside from current levels.

AI will nearly double demand for copper, which is already facing a global shortage

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Microsoft, Oracle, and Amazon are venturing into nuclear power for data centers.</li><li>Nuclear power is reliable and carbon-free, crucial for AI-driven energy demands and climate goals.</li></ul>Nuclear power's stock is rising thanks to artificial intelligence's insatiable appetite for electricity.Tech giants including Microsoft, Oracle, and Amazon have struck deals in nuclear power this year in hopes of supplying their data centers with carbon-free electricity. The deals have buoyed the confidence of global financial institutions, 14 of which on Monday <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-power-banks-support-boost-output-microsoft-larry-ellison-2024-9">endorsed a goal to triple nuclear energy</a> by 2050. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are among the signatories.It's a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-power-diablo-canyon-california-newsom-germany-japan">remarkable shift</a>, given that just five years ago the nuclear plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania shut down in part because it couldn't compete with cheap natural gas. The site was also a symbol of the risks of nuclear energy after one reactor partially melted down in 1979. Now Constellation Energy, the owner of Three Mile Island, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/three-mile-island-nuclear-plant-reopens-power-microsoft-ai-push-2024-9">plans to spend $1.6 billion over three years to reopen one reactor</a> that had safely operated for decades. Microsoft agreed to buy the electricity <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-plan-double-triple-data-center-capacity-2024-4">for its growing fleet of data centers</a>."It's only recently that people have come to appreciate the importance of [nuclear power] from a reliability perspective," Kathleen Barrón, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Constellation, told Semafor during an event at Climate Week in New York City. "But even more so, that there just are no other resources on the grid that can operate when customers need it, consistently, without any air pollution or carbon emissions."All those factors make nuclear attractive to Big Tech companies, which made lofty climate promises but are still generating more emissions as they aggressively invest in electricity-hungry data centers. Earlier this year, <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/e/evib?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=0dbc78003e564580b4e87c95698d0e02&amp;_e=8U4bXw3HX8KDYSsPzOolGOCYuGSttGyuSAzwaclc6RLhG88pp5ZvENg7wFUaiGhas0CJQxM0PQO-UKfMbE1JyA%3D%3D">Microsoft reported a 30% spike in carbon emissions</a> between 2020 to 2023, blaming AI and all the carbon-intensive cement, steel, and microchips needed to build data centers. Google reported a nearly 50% increase in emissions since 2019, citing similar drivers.That climate dilemma isn't slowing the AI boom. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Apple are on track to spend a combined <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/a/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=0dbc78003e564580b4e87c95698d0e02&amp;_e=wWZA5Xoinj0sH2ZX3ugl_OzAKGrCiaQhI0tCdnLiYoGrY2K9XAQ9DXH1nfuXy-AVxR1I2cM5WdV4N__NEHyRgYfxy7pVcK_RoGnlzbfAMw0peO387D2ee0ZCHzEGiY5546lzxSGycKFUCR40aeM1KaciKqift090lKwLtQ-AzllnLeaMvGjH2Szgt7qYcBgSDAgaI_Mdcc7iH_aEDW-Bgh1nvCAEJ7ASTgU-RZ0dP8JOjrfM1r3GFWQ2YdecsSNiiMOGH1mQj_CO9LoLsPhlRawPXj44fGS-XAxiJXAiO3DhIdN0_A7HQjBdVIFETbbhh0ciFuWaBCHhWzClc4RKuys42wiLQFOopc9nCjwKVz5SFVkf_agp-59KZ3ilLlt162SzG2LHLnyVB6tPBRUdSpzM4IhgspSGtjURjCI2Cd8%3D">$200 billion</a> on fixed assets this year, with the majority of that money going toward data centers to support AI, according to a Bernstein research note from earlier this year. In the next five years, that spending could surpass $1 trillion.All the growth risks taxing an already-stressed power grid that uses a lot of dirty natural gas. The pipeline of data centers in places like Virginia and Arizona has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-energy-demand-utilities-green-renewable-2023-10">already slowed the green energy transition</a>. The Electric Power Research Institute, an energy think tank, forecast that data centers could consume up to 9% of US electricity annually by 2030, compared to an estimated 4% today. And while tech companies are the largest buyers of solar, wind, and battery storage, it still isn't enough to meet the 24/7 needs of data centers.<h2 id="a02dd0e8-7117-4d44-8d2a-36fd9deff1d0">Delayed and over budget</h2>While nuclear power is around the clock, critics warn that it isn't a realistic solution to the data center problem. Hyperscalers need energy now and restarting a mothballed nuclear plant — let alone building new ones — can take years or even a decade. It's also an expensive gamble. Nuclear projects have a track record of going over budget. The most recent new US nuclear plant, built by Georgia Power, <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nuclear-power-plant-vogtle-rates-costs-75c7a413cda3935dd551be9115e88a64">arrived seven years late and $17 billion over budget</a>.Three Mile Island could run into similar problems, said Tim Judson, executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, which advocates against nuclear power and for renewables like solar and wind. He noted that the plant needed licensing approvals from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and that reviving an old reactor that's been idle for five years could prove technically challenging.Barrón of Constellation Energy acknowledged that even with new federal tax breaks for nuclear energy, Three Mile Island wouldn't be economical to run without Microsoft, which agreed to pay a premium for electricity. Restarting the plant requires NRC approval following a safety and environmental review, as well as permits from state and local agencies. Constellation Energy said it will pursue a separate license renewal that extends operations to at least 2054.Judson is also concerned that Constellation Energy is talking to a regional grid operator, PJM, about putting the nuclear plant in front of a long queue of solar, wind, and battery storage projects waiting to be connected to the grid. He argued there'd be no need for a nuclear revival if renewable projects cleared those roadblocks faster.Nuclear's supporters disagree, including Arshad Mansoor, president and CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute. He told BI that no amount of renewables and battery storage will be enough to bring the economy to net-zero emissions. Data centers aren't the only driver of power demand. Electric vehicles and new manufacturing plants need electricity, too.Mansoor thinks the AI boom will actually accelerate a greener economy, noting that tech companies sparked greater deployment of wind and solar power."Now they've created a second spark, and it will not just be nuclear," Mansoor said.He predicted greater buy-in for geothermal, long-duration battery storage, and carbon capture and storage at gas plants — many more of which will be built in the coming years, Mansoor said.He also echoed what many tech executives said when defending AI's energy consumption: It will reduce emissions in the long run, such as by helping utilities manage the grid more efficiently and deploy renewables at peak demand times.However, it still isn't clear whether such benefits can offset soaring emissions.

Tech bros and bankers rally around nuclear power to fuel AI's rapid rise

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Virtual power plants aggregate homeowners' rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles.</li><li>State energy agencies and utilities tap the energy to prevent power outages during extreme weather.</li></ul>A growing number of homeowners are getting paid to leverage their rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles to help prevent power outages and clean up the grid.Their at-home renewable energy is being networked together to form "virtual power plants" in states like California, Vermont, Texas, and Utah, where energy agencies and utilities are tapping these resources to meet peak electricity demand during extreme weather. These VPPs are lowering costs and keeping dirtier "peaker" gas plants, which are typically used during emergencies, offline. In exchange, homeowners are paid anywhere from a few hundred dollars to up to $10,500 in one year, depending on the program.GoodLeap, which finances and develops software for sustainable home energy systems, launched its own VPP program this summer in California by aggregating 200 of its customers' batteries. The storage capacity is made available to a state-wide grid support program run by the California Energy Commission. So far, the batteries have helped alleviate six "stress" events since July, including during heat waves, GoodLeap said. The company offered customers up to $350 this year for participating, and GoodLeap gets paid by the state program <a target="_blank" href="https://dsgs.olivineinc.com/faq/#acc-r55c644-2">at varied monthly rates</a>.While versions of VPPs have existed for years — including utilities adjusting thermostats and water heaters to conserve energy — what's new is the rising adoption of home solar panels, battery storage, and EV chargers that can send power back to the grid. The extra capacity is critical at a time <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackouts-power-outages-more-common-climate-change-electric-grid-infrastructure-2023-3">when extreme heat and storms are causing more power outages</a> and electricity demand <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-energy-demand-utilities-green-renewable-2023-10">is surging from data centers</a> and a US manufacturing boom.The Energy Department <a target="_blank" href="https://liftoff.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/20230911-Pathways-to-Commercial-Liftoff-Virtual-Power-Plants_update.pdf">estimated that between 2023 and 2030</a>, the US will have to add enough power capacity to meet more than 200 gigawatts of peak demand, which is comparable to about 200 nuclear power plants. At least 10% to 20% of that demand could be met by VPPs, which have a lot of untapped potential across the US, all while saving some $10 billion in annual grid costs."We're still in the single-digits, in terms of the percentage of homeowners that have solar and battery storage in the US," Dan Lotano, GoodLeap chief strategy officer, told Business Insider. "So as utility rates continue to rise and technology costs are driven down, I'm bullish about where this market can go. And now we've added another value bucket to homeowners that they couldn't access beforehand."GoodLeap's entry into VPPs trails behind its competitor in the home energy market, Sunrun. The company already has 16,200 customers enrolled in the California Energy Commission's program, which launched in 2022. Sunrun has aggregated enough battery capacity to match a natural gas "peaker" plant or take the entire city of Santa Monica off the grid, according to Chris Rauscher, Sunrun's head of grid services and VPPs. Sunrun in California auto-enrolls customers who are paid $100 a year, while ensuring that batteries maintain at least 20% charge in case people need backup power."We have been called on all summer long," Rauscher said.Sunrun is also working with three owners of the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning in Maryland to test its ability to power homes during peak summer demand to ease pressure on the grid. The truck owners are customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company.Brian Foreman is one of the early adopters. In late June, after several months of Ford and Sunrun troubleshooting software, the battery in Foreman's Ford-150 started powering his home from the peak hours of 5pm to 9pm each night. Foreman said he paid $9,200 for the installation of a bidirectional power system, and now earns $500 a month for participating in the pilot this summer through September."I feel like I'm playing a part in making the grid more resilient," Foreman told BI.Some utilities are warming up to leveraging VPPs for several reasons. In 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate electricity markets, required power grid operators to develop plans for integrating homeowners' rooftop solar, batteries, EVs, and energy-smart devices into the market. Many utilities are also struggling to meet renewable energy targets, in part because it takes a long time to build big infrastructure projects in the US and hook them up to the power grid."It's really hard to build utility-scale solutions," Sunrun CEO Mary Powell told BI last month. "I long ago said we went from NIMBY to BANANA, which is 'build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone.'""I think all arrows point to innovation," Powell added. "Let's leverage technologies that are more cost-effective because they're paid for by the customers that are installing them."Before leading Sunrun, Powell was president and CEO of Green Mountain Power, Vermont's largest utility. The utility's energy supply is already 100% carbon-free, including renewable and nuclear power, and it's been a trailblazer in VPPs since 2015. That year, Green Mountain Power started subsidizing some customers who installed backup battery power as long as they shared it during peak demand.The program has grown to more than 4,000 batteries with a capacity of nearly 70 megawatts — or similar to a larger gas power plant in the state, according to Kristin Carlson, vice president of strategy and external relations at Green Mountain Power. The utility has saved about $3 million annually in recent years, which is passed onto all customers. Homeowners can get up to $10,500 upfront to buy and install their own batteries, or $5,500 for two Tesla Powerwalls, as long as they participate in the VPP for 10 years."Because we are able to use our virtual power plant, we're not having to purchase expensive and often dirty power from the regional grid," Carlson said. "We've been able to retire two fossil-fuel-powered peaker plants. That's cut carbon emissions."

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