Russia Shows Us Just How Important Energy Security Truly Is
Our friend Dan Markind has an excellent post up at Forbes. It’s all about Russia’s dreams of becoming an AI leader and the roadblocks it faces. I strongly recommend it as it makes the case energy security is the foundation for everything economic. And, that security doesn’t come from sunshine and breezes. It requires reliable baseload energy such as natural gas and nuclear can provide. It requires infrastructure and regulatory reform to remove the obstacles to that infrastructure as well as exploration, drilling and development:
On November 19, Russia announced a ban on cryptocurrency mining in occupied Ukrainian territories and energy-stressed regions due to potential electricity shortages. Crypto mining, which is the process that blockchain networks, like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, use to finalize transactions, requires immense amounts of energy to be carried out. It remains to be seen what effect, if any, Russia’s ban on crypto mining in certain regions will have on the availability of energy generally in that country.
It is in another field however, that Russia’s electricity shortage may have truly long-term strategic adverse consequences. That is in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Russia’s reliance on the Internet to allow access to AI in the first place…
For Russia, the drive into AI has been receiving massive state support going back many years. Russian President Vladimir Putin, smarting over the poor performance of his military in Ukraine and the uneven success of his air defense technology in the Middle East, views AI as a path through which he can potentially challenge the West on more equal footing…
Unfortunately for Putin, his AI ambitions are running directly into the wall of Russia’s unreliable electricity grid. According to Russia’s national grid operator, AI electricity use consumed approximately 2.5 GW in 2024. In coming years, that figure may reach 10 GW.
However, Russia has shown no ability to grow its energy capacity and grid infrastructure to that level. Over the last decade, Russia has only achieved an electric capacity growth rate of 2-3 GW per year. It is difficult to imagine how Russia would achieve a sufficient growth rate under any circumstances, let alone when it is staggering under the burden of the Ukraine war.
The bottom line is the Russian AI story is a cautionary tale for any country with big development dreams. Without sufficient infrastructure and basic energy resources, no such development is likely to succeed. With the demand for electricity growing exponentially across the globe, especially in view of the increased reliance worldwide on cryptocurrency and AI, national leaders need to prioritize energy security in order to accomplish anything as we move into the uncertain future.
Makes sense doesn’t it? Energy security is simply fundamental and we must not let it be threatened by foolish utopian dreams, corporatism, crazy regulation, or the schemes of wannabe masters of the universe. Just look at where Russia stands with respect to natural gas reserves. It’s astounding, but absent infrastructure development and the strengths of a free market, its ability to benefit from those resources is limited. So goes energy security. It demands the ingenuity and power of free enterprise as opposed to government-directed schemes.
#EnergySecurity #Markind #Russia #AI
Seemingly put at risk intentionally by the current administration’s policies. DJT for the reforms and deregulation needed!