The share of electricity consumed by vast warehouses packed with microchips for AI and the internet has increased by 15% worldwide in the past two years, according to the International Data Center Authority (IDCA). This comes as annual global investment in data centers approaches $1 trillion — representing almost 1% of the global economy.
The share of electricity consumed by vast warehouses packed with microchips for AI and the internet has increased by 15% worldwide in the past two years, according to the International Data Center Authority (IDCA). This comes as annual global investment in data centers approaches $1 trillion — representing almost 1% of the global economy.
There are currently about 10,000 data centers operating in the world. One of the largest is Microsoft's new center in Wisconsin, Mount Pleasant. Its area is about 111,500 sq. m, and the company itself positions it as the most powerful facility of its type on the planet, writes The Guardian.
The UK (5.9%) and US (6%) data centre electricity usage figures are significantly higher than the global average of just 2%. However, the real pressure on power systems is felt in Singapore and Lithuania, where data centres account for 19% and 11% of total energy consumption, respectively.
The IDCA data is consistent with recent estimates from the International Energy Agency that energy consumption will grow by 17% in 2025. This is well ahead of the growth rate of global electricity demand, which is only 3%.
Additionally, the study found that 13% of data center energy consumption in the U.S. is due to unused “zombie services”—running applications that have never been shut down even though no one is using them. This wasteful energy amounts to more than 3 GW.
