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AI data centres could use about 1% of global electricity by 2030
A study released on 21 September estimates that AI-focused data centres could use about 1% of global electricity demand by 2030.
The figure combines public disclosures from Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Oracle and Apple with three growth scenarios; it is not a guaranteed future total.
How large is the projected increase?
The model starts at roughly 118 TWh in 2024 and reaches 239 TWh in the conservative case and 295 TWh in the faster case, implying annual growth of about 13–17%.
Is this all data-centre electricity?
No. The IEA projects about 945–950 TWh, close to 3% of world electricity, for all data centres in 2030. The paper’s 1% is a narrower subset focused on AI-related facilities of six firms.
Why can the local burden be larger?
More than 90% of projected compute capacity is clustered in North America, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific. Smaller systems such as Oregon, Ireland and Iowa can face greater relative pressure than a large system such as Texas.
What remains uncertain?
Corporate plans, chip efficiency, AI demand and grid delays can all change. The study also uses an LLM to extract site signals from public documents, so metered data and later transparency reports remain essential checks.
Primary source and independent checks
Communications Sustainability 원 논문
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