What kind of future awaits us when it comes to energy transition and AI, and what about the sustainable economy, were key topics discussed at the “Energy Summit 2026” conference organized by Poslovni dnevnik, held on Friday, March 27, in Zagreb.
U panel raspravi o AI-u sudjelovala je Maja Rajčić, COO at EIHP, participated and highlighted the significant role of data centers through two components: energy is consumed both in the production of chips and conductors, as well as in the operation of the centers themselves. “According to 2024 data, total consumption in data centers accounted for 1.5% of overall consumption, i.e. 415 TWh annually. More and more of us are using AI, which means more centers are being built, and as such, they are becoming a challenge for local grids,” Rajčić emphasized.
Regarding the role of individuals in this context, she explained that for everyday queries, an important segment is model training, which is highly energy-intensive. “For ChatGPT5, the training lasted five months and consumed tens of gigawatt-hours. This would be equivalent to supplying thousands of households with energy for an entire year,” Rajčić pointed out.
The panel also included Tomislav Lacković (Eccos Inženjering), Mario Valčić (Smart Infrastructure Siemens) and Željko Krevzelj (Ministry of Economy).
You can read the summary of the discussion at the link: https://www.poslovni.hr/hrvatska/valcic-ai-ce-u-hrvatskoj-utjecati-na-140-tisuca-radnih-mjesta-ali-ona-nece-nestati-4530248
Source/photo credit: Poslovni dnevnik
