Global data-center electricity consumption
IEA Energy & AI: historic vs base-case scenario, TWh/yr.
About this data
IEA’s Energy & AI work puts data-center electricity at ~415 TWh in 2024 (about 1.5% of global supply), roughly doubling to ~945 TWh by 2030 in the base case and rising toward ~1,200 TWh by 2035. The shaded projection begins where the historic anchor ends.
Historical + IEA scenario range, terawatt-hours per year.
View data & sources →Data table
| year | series | source_ref | value_basis | twh_historic | twh_scenario |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | global_consumption | iea-electricity | IEA Energy & AI: ~415 TWh in 2024 (~1.5% of global electricity); corroborated by S&P Global | 415 | |
| 2030 | global_consumption | iea-electricity | IEA base case ~945 TWh by 2030 (S&P Global: roughly doubles) | 945 | |
| 2035 | global_consumption | iea-electricity | IEA base case ~1,200 TWh by 2035 | 1200 |
Methodology & sources
Last updated: Jul 17, 2026Methodology
Source-backed values are seeded for all five charts: global data-center electricity consumption (IEA Energy & AI, historic vs base-case scenario, corroborated by S&P Global), the AI vs non-AI share of data-center power capacity (McKinsey base case, corroborated by JLL), the PJM capacity-market clearing price by delivery year (PJM Base Residual Auction reports, corroborated by Utility Dive), the US data-center demand-vs-supply gap to 2028 (Morgan Stanley; Deloitte), and per-site power draw vs a city. Every numeric point carries a sources[].ref and a value_basis. The 2028 available-capacity figure is derived from Morgan Stanley’s ~45 GW shortfall estimate against ~100 GW demand (labeled in the value_basis). ESTIMATE: the AI-share chart uses McKinsey’s published AI-vs-total capacity trajectory (AI ~44 GW in 2025 → ~156 GW of ~219 GW total by 2030); the 2028 point is interpolated along that trajectory and the non-AI slice is a deduction (total − AI). It is a published-estimate split, not a measured per-year megawatt count. Re-verified 2026-06-17.
Sources
- IEA — Energy and AI / Electricity ↗ Open access — attribution
Comparisons are informative, not definitive. See each source for definitions and limits.