Today, a single data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, but some of those currently under construction will require 20 times that.
Today, a single data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, but some of those currently under construction will require 20 times that.
This is stated in a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Guardian reports .
The global race for AI technology will require almost as much energy as Japan uses today by the end of this decade, but only about half of the demand is likely to be met by renewable sources.
According to the report, global demand for electricity from data centers will more than double by 2030. AI will be a major driver of this growth, as demand for dedicated AI data centers alone is projected to more than quadruple.
For example, in the US, AI data centers will consume more electricity than the production of steel, cement, chemicals, and all other energy-intensive goods combined.
At the same time, the report notes that AI is a powerful tool, and how much it will benefit humanity depends on companies, society and governments. For example, AI can help design electricity grids that use more renewable energy. AI can also make it easier to find efficiencies in energy systems and industrial processes.
These uses could offset some of the massive demands that AI will place on the world’s energy systems. But they will likely require greater guidance from governments, the IEA report says. Left alone, the rapid growth of AI could prove to be a major challenge for energy systems and the environment.
Claude Turms, a former Green MEP and Luxembourg’s energy minister, said that AI’s shortcomings were more likely to materialize than the IEA’s optimistic predictions, and governments needed much more help to avoid pitfalls.
He accused the IEA of painting too rosy a picture and failing to explain the harsh truth to policymakers. He said: «Instead of providing practical advice to governments on how to regulate and thus minimize the enormous negative impact of artificial intelligence and new mega-data centers on the energy system, the IEA and its head Fatih Birol are giving a long-awaited gift to the new Trump administration and the tech companies that sponsor this new US government.»
