China Built 400 Gigawatts New Power for AI While US Built Zero
"In the last 18 months, the Chinese using primarily coal burning turbines because they don't care about the environment or do they need a permit. The big guy says put one here and that's how it happens. They've built 400 gigawatt of new power for China, its economy, and its efforts to dominate AI. How many have we built that's new in America? Zero."
About this episode
Glenn Beck interviews data center developer Kevin Olirri about the national security imperatives and local controversies surrounding AI infrastructure buildout in the United States. The conversation centers on a major data center project in Utah's Boxelder County that will cost $16 billion in its first phase alone. Olirri reveals that China has built 400 gigawatts of new power generation in the last 18 months to support AI development while America has added zero new capacity, framing this as an existential competitive threat. The discussion addresses community concerns about water usage, power consumption, and local impact, with Olirri claiming modern data centers use water equivalent to a golf course and will create 4,000 construction jobs plus 2,000 permanent high-paying positions. Beck, who has warned about artificial general intelligence since the 1990s, argues data centers must be built for America to win the AI race against China, but insists communities deserve transparency and negotiating power rather than backroom deals between tech companies and city councils. Olirri explains that data centers have scaled dramatically in two years from 250 megawatts to minimum 1.4 gigawatts to remain competitive, making rural locations with available land necessary. He commits to bringing independent power generation including natural gas turbines, solar, and battery storage, and promises full public transparency through the permitting process. On nuclear power, Olirri states small modular reactors remain 11-15 years away from economic viability at roughly one dollar per kilowatt hour versus 1-6 cents for conventional sources.
Key takeaways
- China built 400 gigawatts of new power generation for AI in 18 months while the United States built zero, creating a critical competitive disadvantage
- Kevin Olirri's Utah data center project will cost $16 billion in first phase and create 4,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent high-paying positions
- Modern data centers use water equivalent to a single golf course due to air-cooled technology and closed-loop chip cooling systems
- Small modular nuclear reactors are 11-15 years from viability for data centers, currently costing one dollar per kilowatt hour versus 1-6 cents for conventional power
- Minimum competitive data center size has grown from 250 megawatts to 1.4 gigawatts in two years, requiring rural locations with available land
- New data centers must bring independent power generation including natural gas, solar and battery storage rather than drawing from existing grid capacity
- Glenn Beck argues communities need transparency and negotiating leverage with tech companies rather than backroom city council deals on infrastructure projects