🇸🇮 Slovenian, 2 November 2026, AI energy
Artificial Intelligence to Consume as Much Energy as Entire Countries
IEA warns that AI will be the main driver of energy consumption growth in data centers.
According to the IEA, data centers consumed around 415 TWh of electricity in 2024, which is about 1.5% of global electricity consumption. This is expected to more than double by 2030, reaching around 945 TWh. The IEA’s executive director, Fatih Birol, noted that data centers could consume as much electricity as Japan by 2030.
The main driver of this growth is expected to be artificial intelligence, with specialized graphics processing units (GPUs) being particularly energy-intensive. These GPUs are used for training and running advanced AI models, and are a key component of data centers.
The IEA warns that the growing energy demands of data centers will require additional investments in electricity production, grids, and energy storage. However, the agency notes that data centers will not be the main driver of energy consumption growth by 2030, with electric vehicles, air conditioning, and industry expected to play a larger role.