President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AES Corporation Andres Gluski speaks during an interview with Reuters in Santiago, Chile June 4, 2019. Picture taken June 4, 2019.
Rodrigo Garrido | Reuters
The euphoria over nuclear energy as a power source for data centers is “overblown,” the CEO of a major power provider for large tech companies told CNBC in an interview Monday.
AES Corporation CEO Andrés Gluski said renewable energy is the future, though natural gas will also play a role as a transition fuel. Nuclear power, on the other hand, faces challenges in meeting the growing power demand from data centers, Gluski said.
AES is a major power provider for large tech companies building out data centers, with more than 40% of its 12.7 gigawatt backlog coming from customers including Amazon, Microsoft and Google, according to its most recent earnings presentation to investors.
Some Wall Street analysts have predicted a nuclear renaissance as power demand increases thanks to artificial intelligence, data centers, re-industrialization and the electrification of the vehicle fleet. Nuclear provides reliable, carbon-free energy, though new projects have long lead times and are expensive.
Gluski said the “euphoria” over nuclear power is a “little overblown.” There is only so much existing nuclear energy that merchant power providers can re-contract to sites such as data centers, the CEO said.
“The question is, going forward, what’s the price of new nuclear,” Gluski said, adding that only one new nuclear plant has been built in the U.S. in decades and it came in far above budget.
“The Street got ahead of it saying you’re not going to build renewables, it’s all going be nuclear,” Gluski said. “It’s going to be natural gas and renewables, but the bulk of it’s going to be renewables,” the CEO said.
AES current gross power generation is 54% renewables, 27% natural gas, and 17% coal. Renewables represent 89% of the company’s gross power generation under construction while gas makes up the remaining 11%.
Gluski pointed to the recent agreement between Microsoft and Brookfield Asset Management for 10.5 gigawatts of renewable energy between 2026 and 2030 as a sign of the future. Microsoft and Brookfield described the agreement as the largest renewable purchase ever between two corporate partners.
“It tells you that’s where most of the energy is going to be coming from,” Gluski said. “They are cheaper, they are clean and quite frankly easier to site, so the future is going to be renewable energy.”
“I do agree that we’re going to need natural gas to shore up, if you want, renewables until batteries become ubiquitous and cheap enough to make up for that,” Gluski said.
Goldman Sachs estimates that power demand from data centers will more than double to 8% of total U.S. electricity consumption by 2030, according to an April report. The investment bank sees natural gas supplying 60% of the demand growth, and renewables 40%.
But battery prices are coming down, the CEO said, and there is as much battery storage waiting for connection to the grid as solar power. There are some hours during the day in California where storage represents the biggest source of energy being dispatched, Gluski said.
“You can do it 100% with renewables, you just need a whole lot more renewables,” he said.
Solar, storage and wind represented about 95% of the power capacity in line waiting for connection to the grid at the end of 2023, while gas was just 3% and a grab bag made up the rest, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Renewables and storage in line for connection is nearly twice the installed capacity of the U.S. power plant fleet.
AES has already signed long-term contracts with data centers to provide them hourly matched renewable energy 24/7, Gluski said. “We’ve done that already for two years. So we can do that today,” he said.
AES signed an agreement with Google in 2021 to power its Virginia data center campus with 90% carbon-free energy on an hourly basis using a combination of wind, solar, hydro and battery storage resources.
The power company recently signed an agreement with Amazon for an additional gigawatt of solar and storage at a site in Kern County, California, bringing the project to a total of two gigawatts in a 15-year contract that is expected to come online in 2025 to 2026. AES has described the agreement as the largest solar and storage project in the U.S.
All told, the power company has signed agreements to provide Amazon with 3.1 gigawatts of power, Microsoft with 1.7 gigawatts, and Google with 800 megawatts, according to its first quarter earnings presentation.
“All of them want to be part of an energy transition,” Gluski said. “I don’t see anybody saying build me gas and coal plants to power my data centers, unless it’s a temporary situation, give me power from your gas plant until the renewables are available.”
AES stock is up 26% over the past three months and 6% year to date. Some 67% of Wall Street analysts rate AES the equivalent of a buy, 25% have a hold on the company’s stock and 8% rate it the equivalent of a sell.
I’ll cut right to the chase. The new Model Y rival from Mazda is coming for the Y’s old sales crown with a starkly elegant 26.45-inch 5K ultra-wide display with dual screens and (get this) a massive 100″ (!) augmented reality heads-up display (AR-HUD) that projects key driving information onto the windshield, alerting the driver of pedestrians, speed limits, etc.
You can check it out for yourself, below.
Mazda EZ-60 interior revealed
Via Planet Car News.
As you can see, the interior largely eschews buttons, knobs, or physical interfaces of any kind in favor of touchscreens. Those screens enable EZ-60 drivers and passengers to control and adjust a 23-speaker, 7.1.4-channel Dolby Atmos audio system, while a separate touchscreen in the rear allows drivers passengers to adjust climate and entertainment settings for themselves.
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Other interior features include super-slick digital wing mirror displays (the exterior “side mirrors” are aerodynamic cameras), and fully twenty kid- and family-friendly storage compartments sprinkled liberally throughout the vehicle. A relatively small 350-liter (12.3 cu ft) rear trunk expands to 2,036 liters (71.9 cu ft) with the seats folded flat. A 126-liter frunk (4.4 cu ft, or about the size of the mini fridge in your college dorm) adds extra practicality.
The electric Mazda SUV itself is built on the Changan EPA1 platform, and is believed to be powered by an 80 kWh battery good for 295 miles of WLTP range, and a 93 kW charging speed that can take the EZ-60 from 30 to 80% charge in a little over 30 mins.
Following the crossover’s Chinese launch – officially slated for April 23rd. Changan Mazda plans to release the EZ-60 in overseas markets under the Mazda CX-6e nameplate.
Electrek’s Take
EZ-60 electric crossover SUV; via Changan Mazda.
Mazda is on a hot streak right now – and not just in China, but in the US as well. The brand’s near-premium positioning is perfect, targeting middle class buyers who are willing to pay a premium to drive a vehicle with better fit and finish than the Ford, Chevy, and Stellantis offerings – but not enough of a premium to justify a move into Acura/Volvo territory. And, frankly, no one in the industry is doing paint as well as Mazda right now. Not until you start doubling the Mazda’s MSRPs, anyway.
Volvo Cars took the wraps off new-for-2026 S90 plug-in hybrid, calling the big sedan the most elegant and comfortable 90 yet, promising nearly 50 miles (80 km) of all-electric range and a comprehensive suite of high-end technology and design updates … but if you’re reading this in English, you probably can’t have one.
The updated Volvo S90 is still blinking into the spotlight, but there are already reports that Volvo Cars has decided against bringing the slick new sedan to the US. And Canada. And the UK. And … you get the idea.
“The S90 is a key part of our product portfolio for the coming years in some of our Asian markets,” says Erik Severinson, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Volvo Cars. “Together with the new fully electric ES90, the new S90 ensures we have a complete and attractive offering for customers who value safety and want to drive a large, sleek Volvo sedan.”
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Invoking the electric-only ES90 EV is a key point here – and Volvo is pushing its marketing heavily into the idea that the PHEV version(s) of the face-lifted luxo-cruiser is “really” an EV, with press copy that reads:
As a plug-in hybrid, the new S90 is an electric car with a back-up plan. It offers 80 kilometers of fully electric range on a single charge under the WLTP testing cycle, while also providing more power when needed. This means that many S90 drivers will be able to do their daily commute with zero tailpipe emissions. Volvo Cars’ data shows that nearly half of the distance covered by the latest plug-in hybrid Volvo cars is powered purely by electricity.
The new S90 will be available to order for customers in China this summer, with selected other markets following later.
Check out some of the official press photos, below, then let us know whether or not you’ll miss seeing new S90s on English-speaking roads in the comments.
Volvo S90 photo gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Cars.
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On today’s fleet-focused episode of Quick Charge, we talk about a hot topic in today’s trucking industry called, “the messy middle,” explore some of the ways legacy truck brands are working to reduce fuel consumption and increase freight efficiency. PLUS: we’ve got ReVolt Motors’ CEO and founder Gus Gardner on-hand to tell us why he thinks his solution is better.
You know, for some people.
We’ve also got a look at the Kenworth Supertruck 2 concept truck, revisit the Revoy hybrid tandem trailer, and even plug a great article by CCJ’s Jeff Seger, who is asking some great questions over there. All this and more – enjoy!
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
Got news? Let us know! Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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