Nvidia, in collaboration with InfraPartners, Prologis, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is set to launch a pilot project later this year to construct approximately 25 micro data centers near utility substations across five U.S. states. This initiative aims to address the growing energy demands of the AI industry, which is projected to consume 9 to 17 percent of the country’s electricity generation by 2030. By strategically locating these small data centers, each with a capacity of 5 to 20 megawatts, the project seeks to enhance flexibility in power consumption and optimize the use of available electricity.
The approach involves shifting computational workloads to different substations based on real-time power availability, thereby alleviating pressure on overloaded substations and maximizing overall energy efficiency. With U.S. grid operators typically utilizing only 53 percent of their generation capacity, this strategy could significantly increase the effective power supply for data centers.
As AI workloads evolve, particularly in inference tasks that require less intensive computational resources compared to training, the micro data centers can dynamically route workloads to where power is most accessible. The project, termed “distributed inference,” is expected to begin construction by the end of 2026, with the goal of demonstrating a new model for data center operations that aligns with the increasing demand for energy-efficient solutions in the tech industry.
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