A Comprehensive Data-Driven Investigation Into the Rising Power Demands, Energy Consumption, and Environmental Implications of Modern Digital Infrastructure
The internet’s energy footprint has exploded into a pressing national concern, with data centers now positioned to consume up to 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028—a dramatic surge from 4.4% in 2023 that threatens to upend decades of flat power demand and strain electrical grids across the country.
The Numbers Tell an Urgent Story
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 report on data center energy use, produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, American data centers consumed 176 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023.
The Department projects this figure will balloon to between 325 and 580 TWh by 2028—potentially tripling current usage in just five years.
To contextualize these figures: 183 TWh consumed by U.S. data centers in 2024 is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity demand of the entire nation of Pakistan.
The growth trajectory represents a stark reversal of historical trends. From the 1950s through 2009, the United States experienced flat electricity consumption while GDP increased year over year, demonstrating improved energy efficiency.
However, data center development is now upending this efficiency trend, with electricity demand climbing 1.8% from 2023 to 2024.
Global Context: A Worldwide Phenomenon
The challenge extends far beyond American borders. Globally, data centers consumed approximately 360 TWh of electricity in 2023, accounting for one-third of overall information and communication technology (ICT) sector electricity use, which totaled over 1,000 TWh—equivalent to 4% of global electricity consumption.
Historical data provides crucial perspective. A 2012 study estimated the internet consumed between 84 and 143 gigawatts annually—roughly 3.6% to 6.2% of worldwide electricity. A 2020 estimate suggested the ICT sector consumed about 915 TWh, representing 4-6% of global electricity.
The figures reveal an acceleration: data center electricity consumption growth accelerated from 3% annually from 2005 to 2015 to 10% annually from 2015 to 2024.
Where Does All This Energy Go?
The energy breakdown inside data centers reveals infrastructure demands that extend well beyond computing power. IT equipment including processors, chips, and storage typically consumes about 45% of a data center’s energy.
Cooling systems constitute approximately 38% of energy consumption, as processors and servers must be maintained at optimal temperatures to prevent overheating and damage.
The remaining 17% goes to security systems, backup power supplies, power conditioning, and lighting—all critical components that contribute to the mounting energy demands.
The AI Acceleration
Artificial intelligence has emerged as a primary driver of the energy surge. AI models such as ChatGPT are significantly more energy-intensive than past data center applications, requiring up to 10 times the electricity of traditional Google searches.
Recent research has refined our understanding of individual AI queries. Current analysis suggests typical ChatGPT queries using GPT-4o likely consume roughly 0.3 watt-hours—ten times less than earlier estimates of 3 watt-hours, due to more efficient models and hardware compared to early 2023.
While individual queries may use relatively little energy, the aggregate impact is substantial given billions of daily interactions.
A study released in December 2024 observed that when training a large AI model using a computer system with eight advanced GPUs for eight hours, the GPUs maintained near-full utilisation (an average of 93%) with a median electrical power consumption of 7.92 kilowatts, totaling 62 kilowatt-hours.
Training large models demands even more dramatic energy investments, with some requiring total power draws exceeding 25 megawatts.
Geographic Disparities and Local Impacts
Energy consumption varies dramatically by region. The United States holds approximately 45% of global data center electricity consumption, while China accounts for around 25%, up from less than 20% a decade ago.
Some smaller nations face particularly acute challenges. Data center electricity use in Ireland has more than tripled since 2015, accounting for 18% of total electricity consumption in 2022, and data centers could account for 28% of national demand by 2031 unless generation capacity increases.
In Denmark, data center energy use is projected to rise six times by 2030 to account for almost 15% of the country’s electricity use.
Power Grid Under Pressure
The implications for electrical infrastructure are sobering. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030, up from 4.4% in 2023.
More forceful forecasts from the U.S. Department of Energy indicate data centers could consume as much as 580 TWh annually in 2028, representing up to 12% of total U.S. electricity consumption.
Grid Strategies, a consulting firm, names data centers as principal culprits for projected skyrocketing load growth in the next five years, potentially responsible for up to 90 gigawatts in additional annual electricity demand, ending an era of flat demand.
Regional power markets are already feeling the strain.
A recent report from Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission warned that if data center growth continues under an unconstrained model, average monthly energy consumption could reach more than 30,000 gigawatt-hours by 2040, far outstripping supply, making it “very difficult” to scale the power generation and transmission infrastructure needed.
Environmental Consequences
The carbon footprint follows the energy consumption. A 2024 study examining environmental impacts found data centers emitted 105 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to about 2% of all U.S. emissions.
Natural gas supplied over 40% of electricity for U.S. data centers as of 2024, underscoring the continued reliance on fossil fuels despite industry commitments to renewable energy.
Water consumption presents an additional environmental concern. In 2023, U.S. data centers directly consumed about 17 billion gallons of water, with hyperscale and colocation facilities using 84% of that total.
Hyperscale data centers alone are expected to consume between 16 billion and 33 billion gallons of water annually by 2028.
Industry Response and Solutions
The data center industry has begun implementing efficiency measures and exploring alternative power sources.
Several hyperscalers signed long-term supply agreements with nuclear power operators for behind-the-meter supply during 2024, including agreements to develop advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) and investments to support construction of more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear energy projects by 2039.
However, concerns over delivery timelines of SMRs—with the technology unlikely to be delivered until the 2030s at the earliest—and uncertainty about the traditional nuclear market’s ability to deliver power dampens confidence in a real “nuclear revolution” within the sector.
Efficiency improvements offer more immediate promise. Using power management techniques to power down idle devices ensures only necessary equipment remains active, minimizing energy waste.
Since the average workload in many data centers typically runs around 30% of peak capacity, such management can substantially reduce energy consumption.
Liquid cooling technologies are poised to play a pivotal role in data center sustainability, offering efficient solutions to prevent server overheating and minimise electricity use.
Policy and Regulatory Landscape
Government intervention has accelerated in response to mounting concerns. According to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, electricity demand will increase by 2% annually for the next decade, and by a total of 300% for data centers alone.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced billions of dollars in investment during 2024 to improve transmission infrastructure, including launching ten transmission corridors across the country to accelerate development in areas presenting urgent needs for greater grid capacity
The European Union has taken a more regulatory approach.
The recast Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) introduces energy and sustainability reporting requirements for data centers based in the European Union from May 2024, requiring data centers with installed capacity greater than 500 kilowatts to report total energy consumption.
Outlook For Energy Demand From Data Centres
According to iea.org, data centres are relatively new actors in the global energy system, yet their electricity consumption is already significant.
In 2024, data centres are estimated to use around 415 TWh of electricity, or about 1.5% of global consumption, having grown at roughly 12% per year over the past five years.
The rise of AI is driving the deployment of high-performance accelerated servers, increasing power density in data centres. Tracking the adoption of these accelerators is critical, as it will strongly influence future electricity demand.
Near-term industry projections for server shipments, considering both demand and supply constraints, form the key input for modelling this growth.
Uncertainty remains high regarding current and future data centre energy use. Scenario-based approaches are therefore essential to explore alternative pathways and provide insights for energy sector planning, which often requires long lead times and substantial investment
Three sensitivity cases—Lift-Off, High Efficiency, and Headwinds—capture uncertainties around hardware and software efficiency, AI adoption, and energy sector constraints.
In the Base Case, global electricity consumption for data centres is projected to more than double to roughly 945 TWh by 2030, representing just under 3% of total global electricity.
Between 2024 and 2030, data centre electricity use is expected to grow about 15% per year, over four times faster than total electricity demand from all other sectors, though their overall share of global electricity remains relatively limited.
Electricity use in accelerated servers, driven mainly by AI, is projected to rise by 30% per year in the Base Case, while conventional servers grow more slowly at 9% per year.
Accelerated servers account for nearly half of the net increase in data centre electricity consumption, conventional servers around 20%, and other IT equipment and infrastructure—such as cooling—account for roughly 10% and 20%, respectively.
Growth occurs across all types of data centres, including enterprise, colocation/server provider, and hyperscale facilities.
Looking Ahead
The trajectory is clear: internet energy consumption will continue rising for the foreseeable future, driven by artificial intelligence, expanding digital services, and the proliferation of connected devices.
The question facing policymakers, industry leaders, and society is not whether this growth will occur, but how to manage it sustainably.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 report estimates data centers consumed about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and are expected to consume approximately 6.7% to 12% by 2028.
Meeting the demand while advancing decarbonization goals will require unprecedented coordination between energy providers, technology companies, and regulators.
The internet has become indispensable infrastructure—as essential as roads, water systems, and the electrical grid itself. Its energy appetite reflects that reality.
The challenge now is ensuring the power sector can keep pace without derailing climate commitments or overwhelming existing infrastructure. The next five years will prove decisive in determining whether the digital revolution can proceed sustainably or will force difficult choices about priorities and growth.
