OpenAI's announced data center expansion plans represent an unprecedented scale of corporate electricity consumption, with projects totaling up to 17 gigawatts of power demand. This figure equals the combined electricity usage of New York City during summer peak periods and San Diego during extreme heat events, or roughly equivalent to the total power demand of Switzerland and Portugal together.

The artificial intelligence company's partnership with Nvidia involves constructing facilities consuming 10 gigawatts initially, with additional projects bringing total requirements to 17 gigawatts. This scale represents approximately 20% of the entire Texas electrical grid capacity, where construction has begun on initial facilities. The rapid escalation from 5 gigawatts discussed eighteen months ago to current projections demonstrates accelerating power requirements driven by AI computational demands.

Nuclear power remains Altman's preferred energy source for these facilities, given requirements for steady, concentrated output. However, energy systems experts note that nuclear capacity additions before 2030 will likely total less than one gigawatt, creating a significant supply-demand mismatch. Near-term power generation will necessarily rely on natural gas, renewables, and existing grid infrastructure, potentially straining regional electrical systems.

The environmental implications extend beyond carbon emissions to include water consumption for cooling systems, electronic waste from rapidly obsolete hardware, and biodiversity impacts near massive facilities. Investment commitments total $850 billion across planned projects, with Nvidia contributing up to $100 billion in hardware support. This represents a fundamental shift in industrial power consumption patterns, with computing potentially accounting for over 10% of global electricity demand within the decade.