Data centres' power demand to more than double by 2030
Electricity demand from data centres is expected to grow significantly over the next five years. Data centre electricity consumption worldwide is forecast to rise from 448 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2025 to 980 TWh by 2030, an increase of over 100% during that period, according to Gartner.
AI server impact
The projected rise is being driven in large part by AI-optimised servers. These servers, built to process demanding artificial intelligence workloads, are forecast to see their share of data centre power usage grow sharply. In 2025, AI-optimised servers are expected to account for 21% of total data centre electricity usage. By 2030, this figure is projected to reach 44%.
For overall electricity use, AI-optimised servers are forecast to see power demand rise from 93 TWh in 2025 to 432 TWh by 2030. This trend means that by 2030, AI-optimised servers will represent 64% of the additional electricity demand from data centres globally.
"While conventional servers and supporting infrastructure contribute to overall data centre electricity consumption, the rapid rise of AI-optimised servers is fueling 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," said Linglan Wang, Research Director, Gartner.
Regional breakdown
The bulk of this growing power demand will be concentrated in the US and China. Gartner forecasts that these two countries will together account for over two thirds of global data centre power use by 2030. The US share of regional electricity consumption from data centres is set to rise from 4% in 2025 to 7.8% by 2030. Europe is also expected to see an increase from 2.7% to 5% over the same period.
China is considered to be in a stronger position than the US in terms of server efficiency and infrastructure planning. Although growth in data centre electricity demand across China and the wider Asia/Pacific region will be significant, it is expected to remain more moderate compared to the increases forecast for the US and Europe.
Clean energy prospects
The current reliance on fossil fuels for on-site data centre power generation is being increasingly questioned. A range of new clean energy options for data centre microgrids, including green hydrogen, geothermal power, and small modular reactors, are beginning to emerge. These technologies are expected to become viable by the end of the decade, changing the energy mix for data centre operators.
In the near term, data centre operators are expected to continue relying primarily on natural gas, but improvements in battery energy storage systems (BESS) are predicted to help balance out the variability of renewable sources such as solar and wind.
"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. While geothermal microgrids offers great promise, its high initial costs and permitting challenges will likely keep it a niche option for now," said Tony Harvey, VP Analyst, Gartner.
