Environmental Impact of AI: Increased Use of Fossil Fuels

The development of fossil fuel-fired power plants is experiencing a resurgence in the United States, driven by the expansion of data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence. Data from 2025 suggests that we are reaching a critical point where the transition to renewable energy and efforts to reduce carbon emissions could be seriously compromised.

This increased demand for energy, largely generated by the intensive computational workloads required by AI, is leading to an increase in the use of natural gas for electricity production. The dependence on fossil fuels to power the AI infrastructure raises questions about the actual sustainability of this technology and its long-term impact on the environment.

For those evaluating on-premise deployments, there are trade-offs to consider carefully. AI-RADAR offers analytical frameworks on /llm-onpremise to evaluate these aspects.