There is vastly more electrical energy that is needed. The world has added about 700 TWh per year in electricity in 2022 and in 2023. The world will soon be adding 1500 to 3000 TWh per year in energy.

Data centers used 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2022 but could surpass 1 000 TWh in 2026. The global electricity consumption in 2022 was 25,000 terawatt-hour (TWh) and this was almost exactly three times the amount of consumption in 1981 (8000 TWh). Global energy demand could triple by 2040 as we will constantly grow AI data centers. AI energy demands will not stop there and would triple again by 2060. The industrial revolution 200 years ago increased world energy demand by 100 times while making everyone 100 times richer. The AI revolution will do the same. We will become 100 times richer and we will need hundreds of times the energy.

Global annual renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% to nearly 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, the fastest growth rate in the past two decades. China is making about 80% of world solar panels and is installing most of the new energy.

Solar power and batteries are the main power source that can cleanly meet this massive electrical demand. However, we do not want only one type of power. Solar energy can drop by 90% in the winter and a massive drop in energy would not be managed with battery backup. Battery backup would be for overnight power issues.

The other power sources will not work at the scales and speed that we need them in the coming decades. We need to get rid of as much of the coal, natural gas and oil power as we can manage. We definitely cannot add more. This is because of the well known air pollution, water pollution and climate effects. It is less well known that outdoor air pollution kills 4 million people per year and causes trillions of dollars in health impacts.

Hydroelectric power cannot be substantially increased. China have dammed every river that they can by 2030 for adding hydro power. Damming rivers floods massive land areas to create lakes.