The U.S. and China drive data center power consumption

, Chief Europe Correspondent
Source: International Energy Agency

The United States and China account for 80% of the projected growth in electricity consumption from data centers by the end of the decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).  

As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly important pillar in our day-to-day lives, demand for electricity to power all that AI is expected to rise.  

Power consumption from data centers in the U.S. is set to increase 130% to 425 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030 compared to 2024 levels. At that rate, data centers would account for almost half the country’s electricity-demand growth over the next five years, according to IEA’s recent report on energy and AI.  

The U.S. economy is set to consume more electricity for processing data by the end of the decade than for all manufacturing of energy-intensive goods, including aluminum, steel and cement. 

Supporting AI development, and ensuring the U.S. dominates the sector over China, is a stated goal of the current U.S. administration. In executive orders, President Donald Trump has directed agencies to prioritize the buildout of new data center infrastructure, including power generation. And the U.S. Energy Department recently identified federal sites where data centers and new energy resources could be built together. Technology leaders in the U.S. also recently pledged up to $500 billion to build data centers in the country.  

China’s power consumption for data centers, meanwhile, is set to increase 170%, or to 277 TWh. Globally, electricity consumption from data centers is set to rise to around 945 TWh by 2030, more than doubling from 2024 levels.  

Despite these strong increases, data centers are still projected to account for less than 10% of total power-demand growth globally by 2030. The electrification of the economy, such as wider use of electric vehicles and air conditioning, are the leading drivers of electricity growth.  

Data centers do have a potential weakness, however: unlike electric vehicles, they tend to concentrate in specific locations, which may make their integration into the grid more challenging, the report said.