---
id: "claim-data-center-energy-growth"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["¶2", "¶8"]
tags: ["projections", "energy-consumption"]
related: ["entity-iea"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-101-energy-strategy-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/your-company-needs-an-energy-strategy-for-ais-next-phase"
sourceTitle: "Your Company Needs an Energy Strategy for AI’s Next Phase"
---
# Global data-center electricity use will nearly double by 2030

## Claim
According to the [[entity-iea]]'s 2026 update, global data-center electricity use is projected to rise from approximately **485 terawatt-hours in 2025 to about 950 terawatt-hours in 2030**. The subset of energy used specifically by AI-focused data centers is expected to **triple** over that same period.

**Confidence:** high · **Testable:** yes

## Enrichment (external validation)
External evidence strongly supports the *direction* (rapid growth, roughly doubling by 2030), but exact figures differ across forecasters:
- **Brookings:** data-center energy consumption could approach **~1,050 TWh by 2026**; if data centers were a country they would be a top global consumer.
- **DNV Energy Transition Outlook 2025 (via WEF):** by 2060, data centers could account for **~11% (6,400 TWh)** of global final electricity demand, ~80% of that from AI.

## Verification note
The specific IEA numbers (485 → 950 TWh) cannot be directly cross-verified from the available external sources — Brookings references ~1,050 TWh by 2026, and DNV gives longer-term shares rather than a precise 2030 total. Treat the exact figures as **scenario-specific rather than firm consensus**. A cautious restatement: *"Multiple forecasts (DNV, Brookings, others) indicate global data-center electricity use is likely to roughly double by 2030 versus early-mid 2020s, driven heavily by AI workloads."*


## Related across articles
- [[question-energy-sustainability]]
- [[claim-physical-constraints]]