Google Funds Electric Worker Training As AI Power Crisis Increases

JAKARTA - Google will fund the training of tens of thousands of new powermen in the United States. This is said by the company from San Francisco on Wednesday, April 31. This step was taken because big technology companies are increasingly involved in the energy industry to meet the massive electricity needs for artificial intelligence (AI) expansion.

Lack of access to electricity supply is a major problem for tech giants competing to develop AI in data centers that require large amounts of energy. This phenomenon has increased electricity demand in the US, which was previously stagnant for nearly 20 years.

US President Donald Trump has declared a national energy emergency to speed up permits for the construction of power plants and transmission projects.

As part of its efforts, Google will provide a $10 million grant for non-profit organizations engaged in electrical labor training. This is one of several steps taken by giant tech companies to overcome the limitations of electric projects and labor shortages in the US.

For example, last year Microsoft announced a partnership with Constellation to revive the reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania to supply electricity to its data center.

According to a study backed by the US Department of Energy, electricity consumption by data centers could triple in the next three years, reaching 12% of total US electricity consumption.

To meet these needs, the country needs more power plants, transmission lines, and supporting labor. The electricity market is expected to grow 6% per year over the next seven years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Google grants will be used for electrical worker internship programs as well as existing labor training through organizations such as the Electrical Training Alliance, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the National Electrical Contractors Association. The company estimates that this program can increase the number of electricity workers by up to 70% by the end of the decade.

Kenneth Cooper, the international president of the IBEW union, said that this initiative would bring more than 100,000 new powermen to industry to meet the needs of AI data centers and power plants.

In addition, Google also announced its partnership with the largest US power grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to implement AI technology to accelerate the supply of electricity and the construction of transmission lines.

Google has also signed the first agreement to purchase energy from several small nuclear reactors as well as advanced geothermal energy technology to support the operation of its data center.

The company will release a white paper on Wednesday containing policy recommendations to accelerate the expansion of the power grid. The document will include protection against excessive costs in the nuclear reactor project through the Department of Energy Loan Program Office, licensing acceleration in Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as strengthening domestic nuclear fuel supply.

In addition, the white paper also advises the US Congress to take action to accelerate the carbon capture project license, develop electric transmission lines, and support technologies that increase the efficiency of existing power grids.