Power demand from U.S. data centers is set to roughly double within a few years, according to analysis from Goldman Sachs, a jump that is redrawing the map of American electricity consumption. The projected surge reflects the scale of computing capacity being added to serve cloud and artificial intelligence workloads.

Domestic figures illustrate the pace. U.S. data center electricity demand is projected to reach about 75.8 gigawatts by 2026, up from roughly 53 gigawatts in 2023. Over a longer horizon, total data center electricity usage nationally is estimated to rise from 176 terawatt-hours in 2023 to between 325 and 580 terawatt-hours by 2028, a wide range that reflects uncertainty over how fast AI adoption and buildout proceed.

The share of national electricity consumption is climbing accordingly. Data centers consumed about 4.4 percent of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and are expected to account for roughly 6.7 to 12 percent by 2028. That growth is concentrated in power clusters where fiber connectivity and tax incentives align, keeping Northern Virginia as the largest single market while newer development shifts toward Texas and the Midwest.

The demand curve carries direct implications for utilities, developers, and regulators. Meeting it requires new generation capacity, faster interconnection, and transmission investment at a time when grids already face constraints. Analysts caution that the range of estimates is unusually wide, underscoring how much the final figures depend on the trajectory of AI computing and the ability of power providers to bring new supply online quickly enough to match it.

Source: Goldman Sachs -- https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/us-data-center-power-demand-projected-to-double-by-2027