Data center electricity demand to grow nearly 26 pc globally in 2026
New Delhi, June 10
Global electricity demand for data centres is pegged to jump 26.4 per cent in 2026, with consumption rising to 565 terawatt hours, up from 447TWh in 2025, a report said on Wednesday.
The estimated surge in consumption was attributed to compute‑intensive artificial intelligence workloads pushing power needs to unprecedented levels, the report from a business and technology insights company. Gartner, Inc. said.
The report said that data centre power demand will reach 132 gigawatts in 2026, up from 104 gigawatts in 2025, with projections of 290 gigawatts by 2030, which reflects the unprecedented scale and pace of GenAI boosting demand.
"AI capacity is now constrained by power availability, making data centre power security the new battleground for scaling and protecting margins in the global AI race," said Linglan Wang, director analyst at Gartner.
AI-optimised servers continue to fuel the increase in data centre power consumption. The report estimated AI-optimised server adoption to account for 31% of data center power consumption in 2026 and that by 2027 their power consumption will surpass that of conventional servers.
With data center power electricity consumption estimated to reach over 1,200TWh by 2030, grid supply will be insufficient to meet the demands of future data center construction, affecting all data center users.
"Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders must prioritise efficiency upgrades and secure grid access. They also need to invest in high-efficiency cooling systems and edge computing to mitigate power constraints and ensure sustainable, scalable growth," said Wang.
Cooling and other infrastructure needs are also rising sharply at 22.6 per cent in 2026, and 24.6 per cent in 2027.
A recent report said that data centres consumed as much electricity as Saudi Arabia last year and that, if electricity use doubles by 2030, the associated carbon footprint would require 6.7 billion trees grown over ten years to offset the demand.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is the kind of development that will boost our digital economy, but the environmental cost is staggering. 1,200 TWh by 2030? That's mind-blowing! We need India-specific cooling solutions that work in our tropical climate - maybe some innovation from our IITs? Also, edge computing makes so much sense for a country with India's connectivity challenges.
Honestly, once AI becomes mainstream in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education in India, we'll need even more capacity than these projections. But the government should learn from our past mistakes - no point building data centers if the power infrastructure can't handle it. Green energy should be mandatory for all new data parks.
These numbers are staggering. As someone in the tech industry, I can see the parallels with the dot-com boom, but this time it's real. The cooling requirements alone will be huge - traditional air conditioning won't cut it. Liquid cooling and advanced heat management are going to be massive business opportunities. India should position itself as a manufacturing hub for these technologies too.
This is both an opportunity and a warning. The carbon footprint aspect is worrying - 6.7 billion trees to offset? That's almost two trees per Indian! We need to think carefully about where these data centers are located. Why not put them in regions with abundant solar power like Rajasthan? Or near hydro projects in the Northeast? Smart planning can make all the difference.
The "power availability as constraint" point is crucial. We're seeing data center projects being delayed globally because grids can't handle them. India needs to expedite its renewable energy capacity addition massively. Also
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