Global Data Centre Power Demand To Match India’s Total Consumption By 2030: IMF
Data center energy consumption is likely to more than triple, exceeding 600 terawatt-hours, by 2030 in the United States, home to the world’s largest concentration of centres.
Chennai: The power consumption by global data centres will be equal to the total consumption of India, the third largest electricity consumer, by 2030, finds the IMF. Data centre power consumption could triple from 2023 levels to 1500 terawatt-hours by then. Electric vehicles too are one of the top energy consumers.
Artificial Intelligence is increasing the demand for power by data centres. The resulting strain on power grids has major implications for global electricity demand.
As the 10th largest consumer, world’s data centres consumed as much as 500 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2023. This was more than double the annual levels from 2015-19. Going ahead, the power demand could triple to 1,500 terawatt-hours by 2030.
Electricity used by data centres alone at 500 terawatt-hours is already as much as that of the power consumption in Germany or France. The data centre consumption would be comparable to that of India, third world’s largest electricity user, by 2030, finds the IMF.
According to an earlier report by OmniScience Capital, data centres and EVs will fuel India’s power demand and both will consume 100 twh power each by 2030. India may need an additional 45-50 million square feet of real estate and 40-45 terawatt-hours (TWH) of incremental power for data centres by 2030, to keep pace with the surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), according to Deloitte. Currently, Mumbai leads the data centre market with 53 per cent of real estate absorption, followed by Hyderabad at 14 per cent, and Chennai and Pune with 10 per cent each.
Global data centre power consumption will be 1.5 times as much power than EVs by the decade’s end. The IMF finds that EVs will be the sixth largest consumer of power by 2030.
Data center energy consumption is likely to more than triple, exceeding 600 terawatt-hours, by 2030 in the United States, home to the world’s largest concentration of centres.
Increasing electricity demand from the technology sector will stimulate overall supply, which, if responsive enough, will lead to only a small increase in power prices. More sluggish supply responses, however, will spur much steeper cost increases that hurt consumers and businesses and possibly curb growth of the AI industry itself.
Under current energy policies, the AI-driven rise in electricity demand could add 1.7 gigatons in global greenhouse gas emissions between 2025 and 2030, about as much as Italy’s energy-related emissions over a five-year period.
Efficient, open-source AI models like DeepSeek lower computing costs and electricity demand. However, reduced costs increase AI usage, and more energy-intensive reasoning models raise electricity demand.
The net effect on electricity demand is still uncertain, which may delay energy investments, causing higher prices. Policymakers and businesses must work together to ensure AI achieves its full potential, while minimizing costs. Implementing policies that incentivize multiple energy sources can enhance electricity supply, help mitigate price surges and contain emissions, said IMF.
