Global electricity demand from data centers grew 17 percent in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency, with consumption tied to artificial intelligence workloads climbing even faster. Electricity use by AI-focused data centers surged 50 percent during the same year, reflecting the pace of buildout tied to large language model training and inference.

The IEA projects that total electricity consumption from data centers will double by 2030 compared to recent levels, while power use from AI-focused facilities is set to roughly triple over the same period. Data centers already account for close to half of total electricity demand growth in the United States, making them one of the largest single drivers of new power needs in the country.

The agency's analysis points to tightening supply chains as a growing constraint on that growth. Equipment such as gas turbines, transformers, and advanced semiconductors have all seen extended lead times over the past year, slowing the pace at which new generation and data center capacity can come online. The IEA describes the industry as being in the middle of a scramble for solutions, as utilities, developers, and technology companies compete for limited equipment and grid connections.

Worldwide capital expenditure by the largest technology companies exceeded $400 billion in 2025 and is projected to climb by roughly 75 percent in 2026, showing how much of that spending is tied directly to expanding data center and AI infrastructure capacity worldwide.

Source: IEA - https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/electricity-consumption-by-data-centres-2020-2035