US data center electricity demand is climbing fast enough to reshape the power grid, with Goldman Sachs projecting that demand will roughly double by 2027. The share of data centers in total peak summer power demand is forecast to rise from 4.1 percent in 2025 to 5.3 percent in 2026, as US data center power draw climbs from about 31 gigawatts in 2025 to 41 gigawatts in 2026.
The pace of capacity additions is accelerating sharply. Year over year additions are scheduled to reach 13.6 gigawatts in 2026 and 36.3 gigawatts in 2027, compared with 6.4 gigawatts realized in 2024 and 8.5 gigawatts in 2025. Roughly 11.5 gigawatts of the 2026 additions are projected to arrive in the final three quarters of the year, following 2.2 gigawatts in the first quarter.
The buildout is straining parts of the grid. Analysts flag elevated reliability risk in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Continent, and Northwest markets, where planned generation capacity additions are limited relative to incoming data center load. The tightening is expected to affect electricity prices and grid stability in several regions as utilities race to add supply.
Total US electricity consumption is projected to rise from about 4,110 billion kilowatt-hours in 2024 to more than 4,260 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026, with data centers among the largest sources of new demand. More than 4,500 active facilities already consume about 176 terawatt-hours a year, roughly 4.4 percent of US electricity, and over 700 more are under construction across 38 states. Utilities are responding with new generation, transmission upgrades, and long term power contracts.
Source: Goldman Sachs - https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/us-data-center-power-demand-projected-to-double-by-2027