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How much electricity do data centers use?

United States data centers used about 192 terawatt-hours in 2024, or 4.7 percent of the nation's electricity, by a national laboratory's estimate. Data centers worldwide used about 485 terawatt-hours in 2025, by the International Energy Agency's estimate. Both totals are rising fast.

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Quick summary: This guide gives the national and global totals for data-center electricity, how they grew, and the scenario ranges for 2030. It is for residents, landowners, and local officials who want the numbers behind the headlines. The key takeaway: United States use roughly tripled from the mid-2010s to 2023, and every projection for 2030 is a range.

How much electricity United States data centers use

United States data centers used an estimated 192 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024. That is 4.7 percent of all electricity the country used, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 2025 update. The total includes servers, storage, network equipment, cooling, and power losses. It leaves out cryptocurrency mining.

Most of the growth is recent. The laboratory’s 2024 report found use stable near 60 terawatt-hours from 2014 to 2016. Use reached about 76 terawatt-hours in 2018 and 176 terawatt-hours in 2023. The 2025 update revised those earlier years slightly downward. It estimates a 14 percent rise from 2023 to 2024.

An independent estimate lands in the same place. The Electric Power Research Institute puts 2024 use at about 177 to 192 terawatt-hours.

Every national figure comes from a model, not a meter. The International Energy Agency’s Energy and AI report notes that very few governments require data centers to report their electricity use. All historical totals are estimates built from equipment shipments and assumptions.

How much electricity data centers use worldwide

Data centers worldwide used about 485 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency’s 2026 update. That is about 1.5 percent of global electricity. The agency estimates that use grew 17 percent in 2025.

Region Estimated use in 2025, terawatt-hours
North America 229
United States (part of North America) 224
Asia Pacific 173
Europe 72
Middle East 1.7
Africa 1.6
Central and South America 1.5

The agency’s United States figure and the laboratory’s figure come from different models and different years. Use each one with its own source, and do not combine them.

The global average hides local weight. The agency finds that data centers can account for 20 to 30 percent of electricity demand in the states, metro areas, or regions where they cluster.

Why data-center electricity use keeps rising

Data-center electricity use keeps rising because demand for computing grows faster than efficiency improves. The laboratory’s 2025 update attributes recent growth mainly to more accelerated servers, each with higher rated power. Newer chips do more work per unit of energy. The scale of demand still outruns those gains.

The drivers changed over time. The agency’s Energy and AI report links the acceleration from about 2017 to cloud computing, online media, social media, and AI. It estimates that global data-center electricity grew about 3 percent a year from 2005 to 2015 and about 10 percent a year from 2015 to 2024.

The buildings also became more efficient. The laboratory estimates that the national average power usage effectiveness improved from 1.55 in 2018 to 1.45 in 2024. Cooling and other overhead fell from 36 percent to 31 percent of the total. What is PUE (power usage effectiveness)? explains the ratio.

The short version: United States data centers used about 4.7 percent of the nation’s electricity in 2024. The national laboratory’s scenarios put 2030 between 9.5 and 15.3 percent. A national total does not show where the load lands.

Projections for 2030

Projections for 2030 cover a wide range, and each one is a scenario. Compare figures only within the same source.

Source Place 2030 central figure Range
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory United States 649 terawatt-hours, 11.8 percent of national electricity (Reference Case) 521 to 843 terawatt-hours, or 9.5 to 15.3 percent
Electric Power Research Institute United States Three scenarios, set by how many planned projects get built 380 to 790 terawatt-hours, or 9 to 17 percent
International Energy Agency World About 950 terawatt-hours, about 3 percent of global electricity (Base Case) Three other cases, with uncertainty widening after 2030

The laboratory’s range is a stress test. It combines the highest or lowest value of every uncertain input at once. The laboratory states that all inputs are unlikely to reach their extremes together.

The national grid already shows the demand. The Energy Information Administration forecasts record electricity consumption in 2026 and 2027. It names data-center development and manufacturing as the drivers.

How much power one data center uses

One new data center can need 100 to 1,000 megawatts, according to the Electric Power Research Institute. The institute compares that range to the demand of about 80,000 to 800,000 average homes.

Energy and capacity are different measures. Terawatt-hours count the electricity used over a year. Megawatts count the power a site can draw at one time. The laboratory estimates, from limited data, that data centers use about half of their requested grid connection on average, because of redundancy and maintenance. The institute treats announced megawatts as a pipeline signal, not a near-term load, because new campuses ramp up over years.

The site questions belong to the utility. Data center power requirements: what a campus needs from the grid covers capacity, ramp, and service. Large load interconnection: how a very large customer gets power covers the study steps.

What the totals cannot tell you

National and global totals cannot tell you what one proposal will draw, where its power will come from, or who pays for the upgrades. A specific campus needs its own load request, utility study, and service agreement. Those records answer the local questions.

The totals also do not show how much of the load is AI. How much energy does AI use? separates that share. Do data centers raise electric bills in North Carolina? covers the cost side. Are data centers bad? The objections, checked against the record checks the wider objections against the record.

Take action: If a buyer has asked about your land, the serving utility’s answer matters more than any national total. Start with Is your land a data-center site?

Key recap

  • United States data centers used about 192 terawatt-hours in 2024, or 4.7 percent of national electricity, by a national laboratory’s estimate.
  • Data centers worldwide used about 485 terawatt-hours in 2025, by the International Energy Agency’s estimate.
  • More and higher-powered accelerated servers drive the recent growth, faster than efficiency gains offset it.
  • Projections for 2030 are scenario ranges. Compare figures only within one source.
  • One new campus can need hundreds of megawatts, and only the serving utility can confirm what a site can get.

Questions

How much electricity do data centers use in the United States?

About 192 terawatt-hours in 2024, or 4.7 percent of national electricity, by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s estimate. The figure leaves out cryptocurrency mining.

How much power does a data center use?

It depends on the size of the campus. A new data center can need 100 to 1,000 megawatts, by the Electric Power Research Institute’s estimate. The serving utility confirms what a specific site can get.

How much electricity will data centers use by 2030?

The national laboratory’s scenarios put United States data centers at 9.5 to 15.3 percent of national electricity in 2030. The International Energy Agency’s Base Case puts global use near 950 terawatt-hours.

Are data-center electricity figures measured or estimated?

They are estimated. Few governments require data centers to report their electricity use, so national and global totals come from models of equipment and operations.

References

Primary sources cited on this page, in APA style.

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