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Home - AI infra brief: The power struggle behind AI’s growth
Data CenterAI InfrastructureEnergy

AI infra brief: The power struggle behind AI’s growth

by Juan Pedro Tomás April 14, 2025
written by Juan Pedro Tomás April 14, 2025 Share
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Tech and energy giants are redrawing the map of power generation and delivery to keep up with the rising demands from AI

As AI workloads continue to grow, the power behind the processing is becoming the real bottleneck. From Amazon’s wind deals to U.S. regulatory standoffs and Equinor’s restructuring, the global energy scramble to support AI-scale infrastructure is intensifying. This week’s announcements show how energy strategy is now AI strategy.

Amazon secures 472MW wind deal in Finland

Amazon signed two long-term PPAs with Swedish developer OX2 for 472MW of onshore wind — 367MW from Rajamäenkylä and 105MW from Honkakangas — totaling 700 million euros ($795.7 million) in investment. The projects, backed by Spanish bank Santander, begin construction immediately. The Rajamäenkylä wind farm is expected to be completed in 2028 while the Honkakangas wind farm is expected to be fully operational in 2027. Amazon now holds 772MW in Finland, even without a cloud region there. Read more

Takeaway: These Nordic deals position Amazon to serve future AI workloads with clean energy — showing how hyperscalers are securing energy ahead of infrastructure.

Equinor creates new power unit to meet growing demand

Equinor announced plans to merge its renewables, gas-to-power and storage assets into a single “power” unit. The move reflects rising energy demand from AI and electrification. The new power business area will combine the current business area renewables and flexible energy assets from the business area marketing, midstream and processing, allowing for a holistic approach to power and markets. Its current portfolio includes mega wind projects across the UK, U.S., and Poland, plus flexible generation to balance intermittent sources. Read more

Takeaway: This structural shift marks how legacy energy firms are adapting to AI’s current demands — offering integrated solutions across renewables and traditional power sources.

U.S. regulators block Amazon nuclear data center expansion

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied a request to increase power from 300MW to nearly 1,000MW for Amazon’s co-located data center at Talen Energy’s Susquehanna nuclear plant. The model — tapping power directly from generation — faces scrutiny over grid fairness and public impact. Read more

Takeaway: Co-location promised speed, but regulatory pushback could slow hyperscaler expansion — highlighting friction between innovation and public oversight.

Eric Schmidt: “10GW Data Centers Are Coming”

At a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned that current U.S. grid systems can’t handle future AI energy demands. He called for urgent investment in small modular reactors (SMRs), fusion and faster grid approvals. “People are planning 10 gigawatt data centers now,” he said. “An average nuclear power plant in the United States is one gigawatt,” he told lawmakers. “What we need from you… is we need the energy in all forms, renewable, non-renewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly,” he stressed. Rear more

Takeaway: Regulatory reforms and next-gen energy sources are key if the U.S. wants to avoid falling behind in the AI race due to power constraints.

Big Picture

Across the board, tech and energy giants are redrawing the map of power generation and delivery to keep up with the raising demands from AI. What’s emerging is a deep interdependence: AI can’t scale without a flexible, robust and modernized energy ecosystem. Expect more tech-energy deals, pressure on regulators and a fierce race to secure clean, reliable power.

What else is powering AI infra today?

Galaxy Digital moves from crypto to AI with 200MW infrastructure deal with CoreWeave

IMF reports Saudi Arabia leading Gulf nations in data center growth and AI infrastructure investments

Silicon photonics startup nEye raises $58M to support high-performance AI data centers

Bit Digital acquires third site in Montreal to expand its North American data center footprint

UAE-based G42 explores AI infrastructure and data center investments in Vietnam

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Table of Contents

  • Tech and energy giants are redrawing the map of power generation and delivery to keep up with the rising demands from AI
    • Amazon secures 472MW wind deal in Finland
    • Equinor creates new power unit to meet growing demand
    • U.S. regulators block Amazon nuclear data center expansion
    • Eric Schmidt: “10GW Data Centers Are Coming”
    • Big Picture
    • What else is powering AI infra today?
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Avatar of Juan Pedro Tomás
Juan Pedro Tomás

Juan Pedro covers Global Carriers and Global Enterprise IoT. Prior to RCR, Juan Pedro worked for Business News Americas, covering telecoms and IT news in the Latin American markets. He also worked for Telecompaper as their Regional Editor for Latin America and Asia/Pacific. Juan Pedro has also contributed to Latin Trade magazine as the publication's correspondent in Argentina and with political risk consultancy firm Exclusive Analysis, writing reports and providing political and economic information from certain Latin American markets. He has a degree in International Relations and a master in Journalism and is married with two kids.

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