Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects that global data center electricity consumption will increase to approximately 1600 terawatt-hours by 2035, accounting for about 4.4% of global electricity consumption. To meet this increased demand, about 64% of the incremental power generation will come from natural gas and coal. Although renewable energy and energy storage account for 56% of the new installed capacity, their actual contribution to power generation is lower than their installed capacity share due to limitations in utilization hours and intermittency.
The International Energy Agency's assessment is relatively moderate, but consistent with the overall direction: by 2030, natural gas and coal will still meet more than 40% of the new electricity demand from global data centers.
The expansion of AI is therefore simultaneously driving up demand for gas turbines, extended coal-fired power plant lifespans, power grids, and transmission and distribution equipment. This also means that short-term computing power construction will still heavily rely on dispatchable traditional energy sources, and technology companies will face higher costs in achieving their emissions reduction targets.
