Jeff Bezos' Bold Vision: Gigawatt-Scale Data Centers in Space by 2030
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a bold vision for the future of data centers. He plans to build the first gigawatt-scale data centers in space within the next 10 to 20 years, harnessing solar energy without the hindrance of Earth's darkness or clouds.
The move comes as the power demand of data centers is set to double by 2030, reaching 945 terawatt-hours, similar to Japan's electricity consumption. This growth is driven by the AI boom. Bezos believes certain workloads can be performed in orbit, potentially undercutting the costs of terrestrial data centers in the next few decades.
Bezos' plan involves using solar energy on-site in orbital data centers, with components launched using Blue Origin rockets. This approach could reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, with nearly a third of data center power currently produced with coal. Tech giants also rely on nuclear power.
However, orbital data centers face challenges. Hardware must be protected from radiation, and high latencies in data transmission need to be managed. Meanwhile, Iceland plans to operate the first orbital solar power station by 2030, transmitting energy to Earth via microwaves.
While Bezos' plans for orbital data centers are ambitious, significant hurdles remain. Yet, with the increasing power demand of data centers, innovative solutions like these could shape the future of the tech industry.
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