Per-site power draw vs a city
Average draw, MW — frontier campuses vs urban load.
About this data
Frontier AI campuses now rival mid-size cities for power: a single planned site can need ~5 GW, versus ~100 MW for a typical hyperscale hall and ~1.7 GW for the entire city of New Orleans. This per-site scale is why individual projects now move regional grid planning.
Per-site data-center power draw vs a city
Average draw, megawatts — frontier sites now rival mid-sized urban load.
Data table
| entity | series | draw_mw | source_ref | value_basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical hyperscale data center | per_site | 100 | iea-electricity | A typical hyperscale DC ~100 MW (~100,000 households) |
| City of New Orleans | per_site | 1667 | sp-global | New Orleans load ~1.67 GW (Meta Hyperion ≈ 3× New Orleans) |
| Meta Hyperion AI campus (planned) | per_site | 5000 | sp-global | Meta Hyperion campus (Louisiana) needs ≥5 GW (~3× New Orleans) |
Methodology & sources
Last updated: Aug 5, 2026Methodology
Source-backed values are seeded for all seven 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), per-site power draw vs a city, US data-center power demand (2025 vs 2028), and the projected electricity-price impact by region/scenario. 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). Demand figures trace to CRS data-center energy analysis; the Virginia (+57% by 2030) and national wholesale (+6% to +29% by end of decade) price impacts trace to Fortune / public-opinion reporting on data-center power costs. 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. CAVEAT: price-impact figures are forward scenarios, not realized prices, and depend on how fast new generation is added. Ranges are shown as separate low/high bars rather than a single point. Re-verified 2026-07-17.
Sources
- IEA — Energy and AI / Electricity ↗ Open access — attribution
- S&P Global — data-center power demand ↗ Public report
Comparisons are informative, not definitive. See each source for definitions and limits.