FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Alaska needs more energy, and lots of it, according to Governor Dunleavy’s speech at a Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday.
Energy sources have long been a hotly debated topic, with some arguing for continued use of fossil fuels and others for expanding renewable sources, but Dunleavy said Alaska will need more and more energy in the future and won’t be able to afford to rely on just one type of energy source.
“This is the future,” Dunleavy said. “We’re going to need everything from nuclear to wind to gas to geothermal to solar panels.”
Dunleavy shared how he recently installed solar panels on his own property, but stressed he has no intention of pressuring others to do the same.
The main reason for this increased demand has to do with the rapid growth of technology, he said: Server farms process huge amounts of electricity, with supercomputers requiring as much as 30 megawatts of power, roughly the energy needs of an entire city.
“In the past few years, technology has leapt beyond our imagination,” Dunleavy said, first pointing to depictions of cutting-edge technology in Star Trek, then asking the AI assistant on his phone to describe the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce out loud. “And in the next five years, we’re going to be dreaming too fast to keep up with what’s coming next,” Dunleavy said.
That’s why Alaska needs to develop its resources and economy and not become completely dependent on oil, he said.
Dunleavy also suggested that AI could be a solution to labor shortages in the near future by simply filling unfilled jobs.
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