POWER LINES
According to Bloomberg forecasts, by 2030, data centers will consume up to 12% of all electrical energy in America, and by 2035 this share will reach 20%. For comparison, today data centers consume about 5.9%. The estimated demand will grow to 194 gigawatts. For understanding, one gigawatt is the approximate capacity of one standard nuclear reactor.
The main driver of consumption is the rapid growth of AI infrastructure, and in regions where the concentration of such centers is high, the load will be even higher. For example, the operator PJM Interconnection expects that more than a third of its energy capacity will go to data centers. Already, the network is struggling to cope with the current demand. At the same time, resource-supplying enterprises need to power cities, electric vehicles, and other consumers.
Forecast
It should be noted that current estimates may be underestimated and they relate only to the United States. On a global scale, technological data centers can show consumption at the level of 1,935 terawatt-hours, about the same as India spends today in an entire year. The only optimistic scenario is a possible downturn in the AI industry, which will slow down the construction of new facilities. However, the current excitement around artificial intelligence is more like a classic bubble than a harbinger of collapse. There are proposals among commentators to allow data centers to build their own generation in order to relieve the load from the common network, or to oblige them to pay for energy at the same tariffs as ordinary consumers. This could finance the commissioning of a new generation, but so far this issue has not been worked out.
Alexander Kozyrev
