US power crunch looms as OKLO CEO says grid can’t keep up without new investment
The U.S. is running headlong into a power crunch driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence — and the nation’s energy grid is not ready for it, an executive...
By Fox News · Fox News
The U.S. is running headlong into a power crunch driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence — and the nation’s energy grid is not ready for it, an executive behind a major new nuclear partnership warned recently. Jacob DeWitte is CEO of OKLO, a California-based advanced nuclear company focused on helping large energy users add grid power through private investment rather than traditional utilities. He joined Meta executive Joel Kaplan and Energy Secretary Chris Wright for an announcement in Washington. The Meta partnership will go a long way to add much-needed power to a key regional component of the national grid, DeWitte said, citing OKLO’s plans to develop a 1.2 GW installation in Pike County, Ohio, near the Hocking Hills. "I think one of the really exciting things about today is announcing the fact we're going to be building a lot more power generation capabilities," he said, quipping that southeastern Ohio used to be an "industrial cathedral" and now can see new commercial rebirth for the digital and AI age. WE'RE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE AISLE. BUT WE KNOW AMERICA MUST WIN THE AI RACE, OR ELSE "Smaller [nuclear] plants can be built more quickly and come online faster -- then you shorten the learning curve. You reduce the cost both in time and money of iteration cycles to drive technological progress and bring these technologies that have huge promise forward in terms of cost reduction … energy dominance and energy reliability and energy abundance," he said. Wright and President Donald Trump have helped companies like OKLO and Meta unleash this new energy potential, to not only increase power capacity and amend structural issues but also greatly reduce the regulatory burdens private companies tend to face from Washington, DeWitte added. With the advent of AI and its power needs, DeWitte said the U.S. energy system as it stands has "absolutely" not been able to keep up. MORNING GLORY: A PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP-BRANDED ENERGY DRINK? DeWitte warned…