AI surge to raise energy consumption – Report
Agency Report
Artificial Intelligence workloads are set to significantly increase data centre energy consumption, reaching 146.2 terawatt hours by 2027, according to a recent report by the International Data Corporation.
This surge, driven by the rising adoption of AI and other energy-intensive processes, is expected to increase operational costs and challenge sustainability efforts for data centre operators globally.
The IDC report, titled “The Financial Impact of Increased Consumption and Rising Electricity Rates in Data Centre Facilities Spending,” highlighted that electricity is the largest ongoing expense for data centre operators.
It accounted for 46 per cent of total spending for enterprise data centres and 60 per cent for service provider data centres.
Artificial Intelligence workloads are set to significantly increase data centre energy consumption, reaching 146.2 terawatt hours by 2027, according to a recent report by the International Data Corporation.
This surge, driven by the rising adoption of AI and other energy-intensive processes, is expected to increase operational costs and challenge sustainability efforts for data centre operators globally.
The IDC report, titled “The Financial Impact of Increased Consumption and Rising Electricity Rates in Data Centre Facilities Spending,” highlighted that electricity is the largest ongoing expense for data centre operators.
It accounted for 46 per cent of total spending for enterprise data centres and 60 per cent for service provider data centres.
According to the report, global demand for data centre energy is expected to more than double between 2023 and 2028, with a five-year CAGR of 19.5 per cent, reaching 857 TWh by 2028.
However, it also identified a growing challenge: rising electricity prices. This trend is driven by supply and demand dynamics, environmental regulations, and climate change-induced extreme weather events.
