This week had two pieces of energy news worth looking at together.
First, SpaceX said it will start making its own gas turbine parts. Why? To power AI faster than the power grid can keep up. That’s a big deal. Even a company like SpaceX can’t wait around for utilities to catch up. So they’re building their own power supply from scratch.
Second, very small nuclear reactors are becoming real. These are built to sit right next to the place that needs power, instead of sending electricity across hundreds of miles of wires.
Both stories point to the same problem. AI and modern technology need huge amounts of reliable power, and the old power grid just wasn’t built for it.
A Different Answer
When I wrote Aquatopia, I had to solve this same problem for a city built inside an underwater mountain. No power lines could reach it down there. No turbines could easily be shipped in and fixed a thousand meters underwater. So the city runs on what’s already there: heat from the volcanic vents in the mountain, and wave energy from the surface.
This isn’t just a workaround. It might actually be a better answer than what we’re building on land today. Heat from the earth never stops, day or night, rain or shine. Wave energy is strong and steady, more than wind or solar. Together, they solve the same power problem SpaceX and the nuclear industry are racing to solve, just using resources that are already there.
Why This Matters
I don’t think heat and wave power alone will fix AI’s power problem on land. But it’s worth asking why we always reach for the hardest solution first, building new turbines, licensing new reactors, when simpler answers might already be sitting nearby.
Sometimes the answer isn’t more machines. It’s a better location.