Electricity demand for data centers worldwide is projected to grow 16% in 2025 and to double by 2030, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.
Gartner analysts estimate worldwide data center electricity consumption will rise from 448 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2025 to 980 TWh by 2030.
“While conventional servers and supporting infrastructure contribute to overall data center electricity consumption, the rapid rise of AI-optimized servers is fueling the increase in data center power consumption,” said Linglan Wang, Research Director at Gartner. “Their electricity usage is set to rise nearly fivefold, from 93 TWh in 2025 to 432 TWh in 2030.”
In 2025, AI-optimized servers are projected to represent 21% of total center power usage and 44% by 2030. In 2030, they will represent 64% of the incremental power demand for data centers (see Figure 1).
U.S. and China Remain Leaders in AI infrastructure Buildout
Regionally, the U.S. and China will account for more than two-thirds of electricity demand from data centers, with China better positioned due to more power-efficient servers and superior infrastructure planning. The U.S. data center electricity usage is projected to rise from 4% to 7.8% of regional consumption between 2025 and 2030, with Europe increasing from 2.7% to 5%. Growth in China and Asia/Pacific is expected to be more moderate.
The Future of Clean Data Center Power
The current situation of fossil fuels dominating on-site power generation is not sustainable. 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 center microgrids by the end of the decade.
“In the near term, natural gas will lead as the main power source for datacenters,” said Tony Harvey, VP Analyst at Gartner. “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. While geothermal microgrids offers great promise, its high initial costs and permitting challenges will likely keep it a niche option for now.”
