Infographic: Data Center Power Needs Escalate

Multiple factors are playing into the data center boom, from increases in electrified transportation and domestic manufacturing to the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence in a variety of forms. Although average- sized data centers typically require about 5 to 10 megawatts (MW) of power annually, according to the International Energy Agency, larger “hyperscale” data centers that require 100 MW or more a year are becoming more commonplace.

Through the first six months of 2024, 78 data center projects began construction in the United States alone. Combined, these facilities were valued at more than $9 billion and surpassed a total of 12 million square feet, reported Dodge Data & Analytics in September. That’s a record for size, value, and number of projects in the first half of any year.

Meanwhile, experts at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reported that data center load growth has tripled over the past decade alone and project that will double or even triple by 2028. These findings were detailed in the agency’s 2024 Report on U.S. Data Center Energy Use in December, detailing data center energy use between 2014 and 2028.

According to the DOE, data centers consumed about 4.4 percent of total U.S. electricity in 2023, an amount that will grow to about 6.7 to 12 percent of total U.S. electricity by 2028. In terms of electricity usage, that equates to 58 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2014 to 176 TWh in 2023, up to anywhere from 325 to 580 TWh by 2028.

As for the rest of the world? Goldman Sachs predicted in May that by 2030, data centers’ power demand could climb as high as 550 TWh outside the United States, which would push total global overall data center power usage past 1,000 TWh by the end of the decade.