Companies seek direct power supplies
As people, power and politics, described as the “3P” factors, emerge as unexpected obstacles in the global market for AI infrastructure expansion, major technology companies and other leading businesses are operating power plants directly or introducing innovative technologies. Their aim is to avoid the local opposition and political regulatory risks associated with reliance on public power grids, even if that means accepting enormous upfront costs.
According to industry sources on November 4, opposition from local residents to AI data center construction and political regulation that exploits that opposition for votes are intensifying in major countries, including the United States.
US President Donald Trump is pressuring major technology companies, saying, “Large data centers should generate their own electricity, supply surplus power to local communities and pay dividends as well.” Governors in key states, including Pennsylvania and Texas, are also taking steps to control approval procedures for new data centers because of their enormous electricity and water consumption. In response, global IT companies are seeking alternatives by signing long-term contracts directly with nuclear power plants rather than relying on existing grid arrangements.
Microsoft signed a contract to purchase all electricity generated by Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Pennsylvania for 20 years. Google signed a long-term power supply agreement totaling 3.59 GW with US company Constellation Energy and also partnered with small modular reactor, or SMR, developer Kairos Power. Amazon purchased land near a nuclear plant owned by Talen Energy and recently signed an agreement with X-energy and others to build 12 SMRs with a capacity of 80 MW each. These moves indicate that companies are investing enormous amounts of capital to establish their own power supply arrangements so they do not miss a critical period for building AI infrastructure.
Nvidia signed a long-term agreement worth up to $50 billion, approximately 73 trillion won, to lease an entire 1 GW data center campus under construction in Texas. Rather than limiting itself to designing and selling AI chips, it is securing scarce electricity and data center space in advance and subleasing them to partners. Generative AI company Anthropic is also signing dozens of infrastructure agreements to address computing resource bottlenecks, including approaching cryptocurrency mining companies across the United States and converting closed power plants into data centers.
Immersion cooling and data centers at sea and in orbit
Companies are also competing intensely to introduce new technologies that simultaneously address noise, heat island effects and power consumption, which are key causes of local opposition. One approach attracting attention is immersion cooling. Instead of conventional air cooling using air conditioners, this method cools servers by immersing them directly in a special nonconductive liquid. Applying this technology can sharply reduce cooling electricity consumption, easing concerns about local power shortages while also eliminating complaints about noise from large ventilation fans at the source. In South Korea, major refiners including SK Enmove, GS Caltex, S-Oil and HD Hyundai Oilbank have entered the immersion cooling market using their existing lubricant base oil technologies and are competing intensely with global companies in technology demonstrations.
Some companies are moving beyond conventional land-based data centers to the sea and space. A prominent example is floating offshore data centers, which face fewer potential local complaints and electricity regulations. China has already built a subsea data center off Shanghai and begun commercial operation. South Korean shipbuilders including Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean are also drawing on their offshore platform technologies to pursue joint development of floating data centers with US data center developers. SpaceX, Google and others are moving toward experiments that launch satellites equipped with AI chips into orbit to establish computing networks where solar power can be used without limit.
Industry calls for clearer permitting rules in South Korea
Against this backdrop, industry calls are growing for proactive government support and standards in South Korea. Although the Special Act on the Promotion of the AI Data Center Industry takes effect in March 2027, industry participants express concern that it lacks detailed permitting rules on matters central to potential disputes, including scale, location, business models and environmental impact assessment. They argue that clearer, more comprehensive institutional guidelines are needed to prevent unnecessary social conflict and reduce companies' regulatory risks.
Original Korean article: m-i.kr
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
