Data Centers on Track to Consume 20% of U.S. Electricity by 2035
Data centers in the United States are on pace to consume four times more electricity by 2035, accounting for roughly one-fifth of all power generated in the country, according to a new report from BloombergNEF. The surge is largely driven by explosive growth in artificial intelligence compute, with nearly half of all data center capacity expected to support AI training and inference. The U.S. continues to dominate the landscape, projected to host 64% of global AI chip power demand by 2033.
The forecasts are rising fast. BloombergNEF's latest 2035 electricity demand estimate sits 83% higher than what the consultancy predicted just last December, and other organizations including EPRI and S&P have similarly revised their projections upward. Much of the new capacity is heading straight for grids that are already under severe strain. The PJM Interconnection, which spans from Virginia to Illinois, currently faces a situation so dire that it paused new connection applications for four years. Electricity prices in the region have already surged 76% over the past year.
The global picture is equally staggering. If AI adoption follows an aggressive growth trajectory, worldwide data center electricity demand reaches 1,935 terawatt-hours by 2033 — nearly matching India's total annual electricity consumption. Despite congestion and rising costs, data center developers continue to pursue grid connections aggressively. In PJM's most recent capacity auction, data centers represent 38% of all charges, underscoring how central they have become to the future of energy planning and infrastructure development worldwide.