Linux Foundation targets power bottleneck with OpenGrid initiative

The Linux Foundation launched the OpenGrid initiative on Wednesday at its Open Source Summit Europe in Prague to develop open grid technology standards, backed by Breakthrough Energy, Connected Grid Initiative, and Google.org. Management Committee Chair Alice Yake, VP of GRIDS at Breakthrough Energy, said existing open source energy tools are too complicated or isolated for broad use and need to "work in harmony" so regulators and decision makers gain transparency and repeatability. The effort targets power as an AI bottleneck, with International Energy Agency data showing data centres consume around 1.5% of global electricity and are expected to double demand by 2030 to 945 terawatt-hours.

The Linux Foundation LF is building a new open source platform to modernise energy grids and encourage utility companies and regulators to adopt shared technology as power remains an AI bottleneck. The OpenGrid initiative https://opengrid.org/?ref=thestack.technology to develop grid tech standards launched on Wednesday https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-launches-opengrid-to-build-open-shared-infrastructure-for-the-worlds-electric-grid?ref=thestack.technology at LF’s annual Open Source Summit Europe, with backers including Breakthrough Energy BE , Connected Grid Initiative, and Google.org. Management Committee Chair Alice Yake, VP of GRIDS at BE, told a keynote audience at the Prague event that existing open source tools for the energy sector were largely too complicated or isolated for broad use. She said: “We don't need to reinvent capacity, expansion, modelling production cost or power flow, but what we need to do is to make them work in harmony and make these tools accessible. So that regulators, decision makers, and people building these plants out in our communities can have transparency, repeatability, and ultimately, alignment.” According to the International Energy Agency https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/energy-demand-from-ai?ref=thestack.technology , data centres account for around 1.5% of global electricity consumption, and their power demands are expected to double by 2030 to 945 terawatt-hours.