Global data centres' electricity demand to reach 945 TWh by 2030

Guess what will be the major driver of this increase.

Electricity demand from data centres worldwide is projected to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In a new report, IEA said this increase will be driven by the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), with electricity demand from AI-optimised data centres projected to more than quadruple by 2030.

“The effects will be particularly strong in some countries. For example, in the United States, data centres are on course to account for almost half of the growth in electricity demand; in Japan, more than half; and in Malaysia, as much as one-fifth,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Renewables and natural gas will be amongst the energy sources to be tapped to meet the rising electricity demand of data centres.

IEA said the increase in emissions due to the rising electricity demand from data centres will be small in the context of the overall energy sector. This could be even offset by emissions reductions enabled by AI if the adoption of the technology is widespread.

Furthermore, AI could also help accelerate innovation in energy technologies such as batteries and solar photovoltaic, it added.

“With the rise of AI, the energy sector is at the forefront of one of the most important technological revolutions of our time,” Birol said. “AI is a tool, potentially an incredibly powerful one, but it is up to us – our societies, governments and companies – how we use it.”