Ben Green, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, explained that using programs like ChatGPT or video generation platforms requires a huge amount of energy, increasing energy demand and requiring upgrades to the grid, prompting energy companies to try and recover costs by raising rates.
Oftentimes these companies are realizing they need to keep fossil fuel plants open in order to supply energy to these resource intensive facilities, Green said, which can scuttle climate goals like Michigan's law requiring energy companies to meet a 100% clean energy standard by 2040.
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