New Delhi — Global electricity demand from data centers is expected to rise 26.4 percent in 2026 as artificial intelligence workloads drive power consumption to new highs, according to a report by Gartner Inc.
The report said data center electricity use is projected to increase to 565 terawatt-hours in 2026, up from 447 terawatt-hours in 2025. The surge is being driven largely by compute-intensive AI workloads, which are placing unprecedented pressure on power infrastructure.
Gartner said data center power demand is expected to reach 132 gigawatts in 2026, compared with 104 gigawatts in 2025. By 2030, that demand is projected to rise to 290 gigawatts, reflecting the rapid growth of generative AI.
“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-optimized servers are expected to remain a major driver of rising data center electricity use. Gartner estimated that such servers will account for 31 percent of data center power consumption in 2026. By 2027, their power use is expected to exceed that of conventional servers.
The report warned that with data center electricity consumption projected to exceed 1,200 terawatt-hours by 2030, grid supply may not be sufficient to support future data center construction. That could affect all data center users as power availability becomes a more important constraint.
“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,” Wang said.
Cooling systems and other infrastructure needs are also expected to rise sharply, with demand projected to grow 22.6 percent in 2026 and 24.6 percent in 2027.
A recent report said data centers consumed as much electricity as Saudi Arabia last year. It also estimated that if electricity use doubles by 2030, offsetting the associated carbon footprint would require 6.7 billion trees grown over 10 years. (Source: IANS)
