Sam Altman's OpenAI Pushes Biden Administration For Massive 5GW Data Centers Equivalent To Output Of 5 Nuclear Reactors, Enough To Power Nearly 3M Homes: Report

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has pitched President Joe Biden‘s administration for the expansion of data centers that consume the equivalent amount of energy to power three million households.

What Happened: Following OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other tech leaders’ meeting with The White House officials, the artificial intelligence startup shared a document outlining the economic and national security benefits of building five-gigawatt data centers across various U.S. states. Bloomberg obtained and reported the document on Wednesday.

OpenAI has cited various reasons for the expansion of data centers including rising competition with China, boosting the gross domestic product, creation of new jobs, and development of advanced AI models, according to the report.

Altman is reportedly in talks to build five to seven data centers, each of five gigawatts, according to Constellation Energy Corp CEO Joe Dominguez. Although the document shared with government officials does not specify any number.

"OpenAI is actively working to strengthen AI infrastructure in the US, which we believe is critical to keeping America at the forefront of global innovation, boosting reindustrialization across the country, and making AI's benefits accessible to everyone," an OpenAI spokesperson said, according to the report.

At five gigawatts, the capacity is equivalent to the output of five nuclear reactors, enough to power nearly three million homes, the report added.

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Why It Matters: According to Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas, AI models, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, require substantial electricity, which could lead AI data centers to consume 20% to 25% of U.S. power needs by 2030, a significant increase from today's 4% or less.

In April, Altman invested $20 million in Exowatt, an energy startup aiming to address the soaring electricity demands of AI data centers.

However, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates defended the substantial increase in energy consumption due to AI systems, asserting that the technology would ultimately offset its high electricity usage.

In a recent interview with Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, former President Donald Trump expressed his astonishment at the high energy requirements of AI. Trump acknowledged Musk's enthusiasm for AI but was taken aback by the technology's significant electricity demands. "This is shocking to me, but AI requires twice the energy that the country already produces," Trump stated.

Last week, Constellation Energy signed a 20-year deal with OpenAI’s biggest investor Microsoft to supply carbon-free energy, restarting Three Mile Island Unit 1.

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