In a world where AI reigns supreme, the thirst for power is expected to surge by a mind-boggling 160% by the year 2030. That’s an enormous amount of electricity, and it’s poised to make a significant impact on the US, Europe, and the entire globe.
Data centers have always been voracious consumers of power, but with the ascendance of AI, that demand is set to skyrocket. This surge in power consumption will be driven by the insatiable appetite of AI innovations, which will require a substantial increase in electricity to process compared to traditional data workloads. In fact, a lone ChatGPT query requires nearly 10 times the amount of electricity to process than a simple Google search. The disparity is striking!
At present, data centers guzzle about 1-2% of overall power, but by 2030, that number is expected to balloon to 3-4%. In both the US and Europe, this surge in electricity demand is unprecedented and could culminate in a significant surge in carbon dioxide emissions. It’s estimated that the emissions of data centers may more than double between 2022 and 2030.
The surge in power demand isn’t solely due to the rise in data usage. From 2015 to 2019 alone, data center workloads nearly tripled, and despite becoming more efficient in power consumption, the rate of those efficiency gains has begun to stagnate. Consequently, the power devoured by data centers has ascended, and it’s projected to continue to climb in the impending years.
AI is undeniably at the heart of this surge in power demand. The boost in power consumption from AI alone could potentially reach around 200 terawatt-hours every year from 2023 to 2030. By 2028, AI is anticipated to account for approximately 19% of data center power demand.
However, it’s not just the burgeoning demand for power that’s a concern – it’s also the staggering environmental impact. The projected increase in carbon dioxide emissions from data centers could amount to a “social cost” of $125-140 billion. That’s a hefty sum, and it’s a factor that must be pondered as we forge ahead.
In the US, the need for power is expected to leap by about 2.4% between 2022 and 2030, with nearly 0.9% emanating from data centers. By 2030, data centers will devour roughly 8% of US power, in contrast to 3% in 2022.
Europe is also poised to confront a substantial surge in power demand, spurred by the expansion of data centers and the hastening of electrification. By 2030, the power requirements of European data centers will compare to the collective current consumption of Portugal, Greece, and the Netherlands. That’s a staggering amount of power!
This surge in power demand will necessitate significant investments in infrastructure, including almost €800 billion in spending on transmission and distribution over the coming decade, as well as nearly €850 billion in investment in solar, onshore wind, and offshore wind energy.
The rise of AI and the surge in data center power demand will have far-reaching implications, spanning from the environment to the economy. It’s a brave new world out there, and it’s going to be captivating to witness how it all unfolds.
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