Electricity demand for data centres to double by 2030

New report highlights how the growth and demand of data centres is using more electricity.

As data centres continue to be built to meet data and AI needs, electricity demand for data centres globally is set to double by 2030, according to a new report.

In a recent Gartner report, analysts predict worldwide data centre electricity consumption will rise from 448 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2025 to 980 TWh by 2030.

Linglan Wang, research director at Gartner said, “While conventional servers and supporting infrastructure contribute to overall data centre electricity consumption, the rapid rise of AI-optimised servers is fuelling the increase in data centre power consumption.

“Their electricity usage is set to rise nearly fivefold, from 93 TWh in 2025 to 432 TWh in 2030.”

In 2025, AI-optimised servers are projected to represent 21 percent of total centre power usage and 44 percent by 2030. In 2030, they will represent 64 percent of the incremental power demand for data centres.

The US and China will have more than two thirds of electricity demand from data centres. In terms of electricty usage, Asia Pacific is expected to have a moderate amount of growth compared to the US and Europe.

The current situation of fossil fuels dominating on-site power generation is not sustainable, Gartner analysts noted.

New clean on-site power alternatives — such as green hydrogen, geothermal and small modular reactors (SMRs) — are beginning to emerge and will become viable fuel alternatives for data centre microgrids by the end of the decade.

Discussing renewable and sustainable energy, Tony Harvey, VP analyst at Gartner said, “In the near term, natural gas will lead as the main power source for data centres.

“However, within the next 3 to 5 years, we anticipate rapid growth in battery energy storage systems (BESS) to balance the fluctuations of solar and wind energy.

He added, “While geothermal microgrids offers great promise, its high initial costs and permitting challenges will likely keep it a niche option for now.”