By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The Ethiopian Artificial
Intelligence Institute has highlighted the importance of a reliable electricity
supply to the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), pointing to nuclear
energy and the country’s renewable power resources as potential sources to support
its ambition to become Africa’s AI hub.
In a discussion titled
“Nuclear Energy for AI Development: What Lessons Are There for Ethiopia?”, the
institute noted that the expansion of AI was raising an important question
about how to meet the growing electricity needs of the sector.
The institute cited a United
States government initiative that has set aside a $4.42 billion loan for the
private sector to restart three closed nuclear power plants: Palisades, Crane
and Duane Arnold. Once operational, the plants are expected to generate 2.25
gigawatts of electricity.
According to the institute,
the primary advantage of nuclear power is its ability to generate electricity
continuously, a feature that meets the needs of AI data centres, which require
a reliable and consistent power supply.
Ethiopia, which is working
to make AI a key pillar of its digital transformation, has significant
opportunities to use its existing clean energy resources to support the
sector’s expansion.
“The growth of AI
fundamentally requires a reliable power supply alongside other inputs,” the
institute said.
It pointed to electricity
generated by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), other hydroelectric
power plants, wind and solar energy as major resources that could support the
country’s AI ambitions.
The institute also
identified nuclear energy as an emerging alternative, saying it “plays an
irreplaceable role” in meeting the sector’s energy needs.
It said integrating reliable
power supplies with modern data centres, high-speed internet and a young
workforce could help position Ethiopia as Africa’s AI hub.
