Data centers use electricity to run servers, storage and networking equipment—and to power the cooling, backup and electrical systems that keep that IT equipment operating. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated global data-centre electricity use at 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024, about 1.5% of global electricity consumption. Its 2026 update puts the 2025 estimate at roughly 485 TWh and projects about 950 TWh in 2030. These figures come from different report vintages and baselines, not one unchanged forecast series.
How a data center uses electricity
Electricity enters a facility through a grid connection and may also come from onsite generation. Power-conditioning and backup equipment help deliver reliable electricity to the IT equipment. Servers process workloads; storage systems hold data; networking equipment moves it. Cooling and other facility systems also consume power. This is a general explanation of the components, not a universal wiring diagram: layouts and equipment differ from site to site.
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The IEA identifies servers, storage, networking, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), cooling, network and grid connections, and backup generators among the relevant equipment. The proportion of electricity used by each part varies with the data-center type and equipment efficiency. There is no single split that applies to every facility.
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Global estimates and projections have shifted as the IEA has updated its outlook. Read each number with its report year and baseline:
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| IEA publication | Estimate or projection | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 report | 415 TWh in 2024; about 1.5% of global electricity use | Estimated global consumption in 2024. |
| 2025 report, Base Case | 945 TWh in 2030; just under 3% of global electricity use | A scenario projection, not an observed outcome. |
| 2026 update | Roughly 485 TWh in 2025; about 950 TWh in 2030 | A later estimate and updated central projection with a different baseline and forecast vintage. |
The IEA also reported that data-centre electricity demand had grown around 12% annually over the five years before its 2025 report. The 2026 update estimates global demand grew 17% in 2025, with AI-focused data centres growing 50% that year. The figures describe different periods and editions; they should not be treated as directly interchangeable measures.
Why data-center power demand is growing
AI and accelerated servers
AI is driving deployment of high-performance accelerated servers and increasing power density in data centers. In the IEA’s 2025 Base Case, electricity use by accelerated servers grows around 30% per year from 2024 to 2030, compared with 9% per year for conventional servers. Accelerated servers account for almost half of net global data-centre electricity growth in that scenario. These are projections, not measured future results.
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AI workloads do not all use the same amount of energy. The IEA’s 2026 analysis says simple text-generation tasks have become more energy-efficient, while video generation, reasoning and agentic workloads can require hundreds or thousands of times more energy per query than simple text generation. That comparison is about particular types of task; it does not mean every AI query has one fixed footprint.
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AI is a major growth driver, but not the only one. Expanding demand for cloud computing, data processing and other digital services also adds to electricity use. Facility infrastructure draws additional power as well as the IT equipment doing the computing.
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Where growth is concentrated—and what that means for grids
A small global share can still create substantial pressure where data centers cluster. In the IEA’s 2025 report, the United States accounted for 45% of global data-centre electricity consumption in 2024, China for 25% and Europe for 15%. The United States and China together account for nearly 80% of projected global growth through 2030 in that analysis.
Grid connections, transmission construction and equipment supply can take longer than data-center projects. The IEA’s 2025 report estimates that around 20% of planned data-centre projects could be at risk of delays unless grid risks are addressed. This is a projection about planned projects, not a count of facilities currently delayed. It helps explain why local constraints matter more than the global percentage alone when asking whether data centers could contribute to power shortages.
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What electricity sources supply data centers?
In the IEA’s 2025 Base Case, renewables meet nearly half of global data-centre demand growth from 2024 to 2030. Natural gas and coal together supply over 40% of additional demand through 2030 in that scenario. These are estimates of physical electricity generation, accounting for onsite generation and the local grid mix—not the contractual electricity mix an operator may claim through purchasing arrangements. The actual supply mix varies by place and scenario.
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Why forecasts differ
Forecasts depend on how quickly AI is adopted, what workloads people run, how efficient hardware and software become, how many facilities are built, and whether power-system bottlenecks delay them. The IEA’s 2025 scenarios range from roughly 700 TWh of data-centre electricity use in 2035 under Headwinds to more than 1,700 TWh under Lift-Off. These are contrasting scenario outcomes, not confidence bounds around a single prediction.
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For a fair comparison, check the report date, scenario, baseline year and forecast horizon. A forecast is not an observed result, and a newer estimate may use a different starting point or assumptions than an earlier one.
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