According to a new report of theInternational Energy Agency (IEA), the electrical consumption of data centers It is intended to more than double by 2030, mainly due to the exponential growth of applications based on artificial intelligence. If today these infrastructures represent about 1.5% of global electrical demand, in the next six years it is expected that they will come to consume 3%, reaching about 945 Teramo (TWH). A value higher than the current energy consumption of Japan.
The main cause of this increase is the boom ofGenerative artificial intelligencewhich requires enormous calculation powers and consequently requires large quantities of electricity to work. IEA underlines that a single 100 megawatt data center can come to consume how much 100,000 homes. Some of the new centers already during the construction phase may come to consumption equal to those of two million homes.
United States, Europe and China dominate consumption
Currently, the United States, the European Union and China represent about 85% of the electrical consumption of world data centers. Large technological companies are increasingly aware of the enormous energy needs generated by the running to the AI and are looking for alternative solutions to guarantee constant supply.
Google, for example, signed an agreement in 2023 to receive energy from small nuclear reactors. Microsoft, for its part, is preparing to use energy from new reactors built at Three Mile Island, sadly known for the worst nuclear accident in the history of the United States in 1979. Amazon is also moving in the same direction, focusing on nuclear to feed its data centers.
The IA, although the main cause of the growth of the needs, can also contribute to optimize production and energy consumptioncreating new opportunities to reduce costs, improve competitiveness and reduce emissions. Iea speaks of a revolutionary potential, capable of radically transforming the energy sector.
Emissions are growing: from 180 to 300 million tons of CO₂ by 2035
However, the AIA report warns that the expansion of data centers will inevitably involve an increase in carbon dioxide emissions: it will pass from 180 million tons current to 300 million in 2035. Although this figure represents only a small part of the 41.6 billion tons of global emissions scheduled for 2024, the trend is clearly growing.
Today about the 30% of the energy used by the data centers comes from coalbut in the coming years an increase in the share of renewables and natural gas is expected, driven by more low costs and greater availability in key markets.
Meanwhile, the President of the United States Donald Trump has announced the creation of a “National Council for Energy Domain”with the aim of strengthening electrical production and maintaining the country’s competitive advantage in the artificial intelligence sector compared to China.
