A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that global demand for electricity from data centers could double by 2026.
The increase in energy demand would effectively amount to a second Germany or Sweden, the IEA says, highlighting the immense scale of the problem that continues to grow as consumers and businesses turn to more digital solutions.
The increase is attributed to cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence, two sectors that are not only expected to grow in the coming years but have already earned themselves a reputation for being exceptionally power hungry.
Energy demand data centers
According to IEA estimates, demand could reach 1,050 TWh by 2026, adding as much as 590 TWh of demand to networks worldwide, or the equivalent of some major European countries.
The Agency says a third (33%) of the world’s data centers are in the US. Another 16% are in Europe and 10% are in China. Looking ahead, the IEA believes that Chinese demand could surpass that of the US, reaching 300 TWh in 2026 and 400 TWh in 2030.
European demand is also expected to grow, with many of the largest centers located in major cities such as Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, London and Paris.
Nearly a fifth (17%) of Ireland’s energy demand in 2022 was attributed to its data centres, and that figure could quickly rise to a third (32%) by 2026.
Much work has been done to make data centers more sustainable, including more efficient hardware and components, but increasing consumer and enterprise demand for cloud services will continue to drive up data center energy consumption.
Despite the obvious challenges, the IEA remains positive about the role of renewable energies in meeting growing demand, predicting that green energy could account for around a third of global demand next year. Low-carbon sources, including renewables and nuclear energy, could account for almost half (46%) of global supply by the end of 2026.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said: “…it is encouraging that the rapid growth of renewables and a steady expansion of nuclear power are together on track to meet the total increase in global electricity demand over the next three years.”
Through The register