Marina Lyubimova
⬤ Data center electricity demand is climbing fast, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing growth. In 2022, data centers used around 300 terawatt-hours of electricity—roughly 1% of global supply. New forecasts suggest this could jump to about 900 TWh by 2030, pushing data centers' share of worldwide electricity to around 3%.
⬤ Year-by-year projections show steady growth from just under 300 TWh in 2022 to over 900 TWh by 2030. This reflects expanding AI workloads, hyperscale cloud deployments, and the rising computational demands of digital services.
The roughly 400 TWh increase expected between now and 2030 is equivalent to constructing around 50 nuclear power plants or deploying approximately 400 million solar panels.
⬤ The scale of this growth presents real infrastructure challenges for global energy systems. Meeting the projected 400 TWh increase would require building the equivalent of 50 nuclear plants, 54 coal plants, or 52 gas-fired facilities—or installing about 400 million solar panels in less than a decade.
⬤ This surge matters because energy is becoming central to AI-driven expansion. As power demand climbs, pressure on electricity generation, grid capacity, and long-term planning will intensify. Access to reliable, scalable power sources is becoming a critical factor determining where and how quickly data centers can grow worldwide.
Marina Lyubimova
