Europe should make AI prove its value before giving it priority on the grid

An opinion piece urges EU regulators to require data centres and AI developers to demonstrate credible demand and pay for grid connection costs. It cites an MIT finding that 95% of generative AI pilots showed no measurable return and AEP Ohio's drop from 30 GW of requests to 5.6 GW once study fees applied.

• IEA projects data centre power use at ~945 TWh by 2030
• MIT: 95% of generative AI pilots produced no measurable return
• AEP Ohio: 30 GW of requests shrank to 5.6 GW after study fees
• Lead times: gas turbines up to 5 years, transformers up to 3 years