Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Data center power consumption - statistics & facts
Global electricity consumption from data centers has already started to account for a non-negligible share of total electricity use worldwide. Projections indicate this share could roughly double by 2030, with the pace of expansion well beyond what was anticipated only a few years ago. Contributing to this is the growing number of large-scale hyperscale facilities, with the total count worldwide now approaching four figures — and global supply capacity on track to increase by around 60 percent before the end of the decade.Â
Energy demand of AI workloads
AI-related processing has become a rapidly expanding source of electricity demand within the data center sector, accounting for a growing share of total consumption. Forecasts to 2030 suggest that AI workloads could grow several times over from current levels, eventually representing over two-thirds of all data center capacity demand worldwide. This has reshaped infrastructure requirements considerably, with a majority of data center professionals in 2025 identifying high-density power supply and advanced cooling as the most pressing facility needs.
Regional concentration and cleaner energyÂ
Demand growth is far from evenly spread: Certain regions, particularly in the United States and Japan, are forecast to account for a disproportionately large share of electricity consumption from data centers through 2030. Northern Virginia remains the world's largest data center market by existing inventory and continues to see more new construction activity than any other global hub, though pressure on local infrastructure has begun to prompt regulatory scrutiny. In response to growing attention on the sector's energy footprint, renewable energy adoption has moved to the top of operators' agendas, with a large majority of U.S. data center professionals reporting plans to expand solar and wind capacity over the coming years.Â
