Rising Demand for Electricity: Data Centers Expected to Double Consumption by 2030

The global electricity consumption by data centers is projected to more than double by 2030, largely driven by the increasing implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. According to a forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the annual electricity demand from data centers is expected to reach approximately 945 terawatt-hours by 2030. The most significant increase is anticipated in Chinese data centers, which are expected to see a surge of 170%, followed by a 130% rise in the United States. In Europe, data centers are projected to need an additional 45 terawatt-hours per year, marking a 70% increase compared to 2024.

For the current year, experts estimate that global electricity usage by data centers will be around 415 terawatt-hours, accounting for about 1.5% of total global consumption. This share is anticipated to rise to approximately 3% by 2030. The researchers predict a compound annual growth rate of 15% for data center electricity usage, which is four times faster than growth rates in other sectors. Over the past five years, global electricity consumption by data centers has increased by 12%.

Another concern highlighted by the report is the concentration of data center infrastructure in select regions, posing additional challenges to power grids. The study also notes that the proportion of servers utilizing GPU acceleration for AI applications is expected to rise significantly, with their electricity consumption projected to increase by around 30% annually. In contrast, traditional servers will only see a 9% growth in power usage. Overall, AI-optimized servers are expected to account for nearly half of the net increase in data center electricity consumption by 2030, while conventional servers will contribute 20%, with the remainder attributed to peripheral infrastructure.

Currently, more than 60% of the electricity used in data centers is dedicated to server operations, while cooling systems and humidity regulation consume about 20% of total energy. Storage and backup systems account for 5%, and network connections, such as switches and routers, take up another 5%. The remaining energy use is related to smaller categories like lighting and employee devices.

The IEA report reveals that in 2024, 46% of the electricity consumed in data centers worldwide was derived from fossil fuels. In the United States, natural gas is the predominant energy source, while China primarily relies on coal. Approximately one-quarter of the electricity comes from renewable sources, with 15% generated from nuclear power. Although an absolute increase in fossil fuel consumption is expected by 2030, the share of nuclear and renewable energy for data centers is projected to rise to 60% globally. In Europe, this figure could reach 85% by 2030, with companies like Hetzner planning to operate their own solar parks to support this transition.