Data centers could consume about 20% of all electricity generated in the United States by 2035, four times their current share, according to a BloombergNEF forecast reported by the publication.
Analysts estimate that total data-center capacity will approach 200 GW over the next decade. Nearly half of that capacity is expected to support the training and operation of artificial-intelligence models.
By 2033, the United States could account for 64% of global AI computing measured by electricity use. BloombergNEF’s new 2035 projection is 83% higher than the estimate it issued in December.
Other organizations have also raised their estimates. The Electric Power Research Institute more than doubled its 2024 forecast, while S&P Global increased its projection by more than one-third between October and April.
The burden will not be evenly distributed. Data centers could account for 34% of consumption in the PJM Interconnection region stretching from Virginia to Illinois, while they could use 22% of generating capacity in Texas’s ERCOT system.
PJM previously paused new connection requests for four years, and electricity prices in the region rose 76% over the past year. Globally, data centers could add 1,935 TWh of annual demand by 2033, close to India’s current yearly electricity consumption.
