New data centers will need almost triple the current energy demand by 2035

• New data centers to push energy demands 2.7x more by 2035
• These projects put huge pressure onto energy grids
• This drives up prices and harms the nearby environments

A new wave of energy demand is hitting grids across the US, with current projections outlining that by the end of 2035, data centers will require 2.7x the current electricity demand - a jump of 36% from predictions published just 7 months ago.

New research from BloomberNEF shows that the massive increase in demand is likely driven by AI - and could put regions under immense pressure, leading to a reliance on energy from rural areas as urban areas become strained.

The differing predictions likely stem from an increase in the number of pledged data centers yet to become operational, and the size and power of the proposed projects. At the moment, just 10% of data centers use over 50 megawatts of ...