A South Dakota utility CEO just laid it out plain: The AI boom is a lifeline for fossil fuels. (South Dakota Searchlight)
NorthWestern CEO Brian Bird admitted the ravenous energy demand from data centers will inevitably extend the life of coal and gas plants, since renewables and 4-hour batteries simply can’t guarantee 24/7/365 reliability.
While Bird’s utility is merging with Black Hills Energy to bulk up for this demand, he warned that until battery storage jumps from 4 hours to 100, the only zero-carbon alternative for baseload power is nuclear—which doesn't yet exist in the state.