Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Energy

Global investment in data centers has been accelerating since 2022. This investment boom is fueling concerns about rapidly increasing electricity demand.
Data centers accounted for approximately 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024, or 415 TWh. The United States accounted for the largest share of global data center electricity consumption in 2024 (45%), followed by China (25%) and Europe (15%). Data center electricity consumption is expected to more than double by 2030, reaching approximately 945 TWh. In about a decade, data centers will consume more electricity than the production of aluminum, steel, cement, chemicals, and all other energy-intensive products combined.
Strong electricity demand growth continues in developing countries, and data centers are a significant contributor. However, in developed economies, the growth in data center demand will continue to influence production design amidst the weaker demand for electricity. If the electricity sector fails to take adequate steps, it will struggle to meet the increasing data center load. The impact of AI on the energy sector isn't limited to consumption. AI is being used for a multitude of purposes, including optimizing energy and mining supply; electricity generation, transmission, and energy consumption; reducing costs; increasing supply; ensuring supply security; extending asset life; reducing downtime; and reducing emissions. Implementing these tools could enable an increase in transmission capacity of up to 175 GW without the construction of any new lines. This would be more than the expected increase in data center power load by 2030.

The industry of the future will be increasingly digitalized and automated, and countries and companies will be at the forefront of integrating AI into production. There is significant potential for AI-led optimizations to make heating and cooling systems more efficient and electricity usage more flexible in buildings. If scaled, current AI adoption could lead to global electricity savings of approximately 300 TWh.