lectricity needed to power data centers. It's been estimated that data centers consume 1.3 percent of the world's electricity, and there are tens of thousands of electronic data centers being built, and each one needs as much electricity as a steel mill.
Those requirements underscore the need to build many more "base-load" power plants in the United States. Because renewable energy sources are unreliable, most of the electricity will need to come from nuclear power and the abundance of cheap natural gas. But too few power plants are being built.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has projected potential power shortages over the next decade, and other states, particularly several in the Midwest, have reserve margins that are too short for comfort.
The need for improvements in the electrical infrastructure is not to be underestimated. It's essential to our economic well-being, especially in the context of the technological innovations in automation, information systems and advanced manufacturing sweeping our country.
After all, it is technological innovation that drives economic growth, and only growth will raise our standard of living over time. Without adequate supplies of electricity, our economic growth can be compromised.
To grasp the magnitude of the changes taking place, consider that, in the last three decades, computing speeds have risen 200,000-fold, while costs have dropped 10,000-fold. In 1980, it cost $10,000 for the hardware to store a single book. Today it costs one penny. That's why a Kindle can store thousands of books. And the cost of storing books and digital information is still collapsing.
We're entering a new age of super-computing, providing cheap information and processing power to nearly everyone. But that assumes that our electricity production keeps pace with the rising energy demands of the new information-intensive technologies. Those states that fail to increase electrical generating capacity will pay a huge price for such shortsightedness in terms of lost economic opportunities and jobs. It's time to start modernizing the electrical infrastructure now to prepare for an exciting digital future.