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AI data center power demand will surge, but not dominate global supply
Data centers consumed about 485 terawatt-hours of electricity worldwide in 2025, with the International Energy Agency projecting roughly 950 TWh by 2030.
OilPrice argues that concerns about AI-driven electricity demand miss the larger picture, because data centers are expected to remain a small share of total global power consumption even as their usage grows.
The outlet cites International Energy Agency expectations that data-center electricity consumption will rise to about 950 TWh by 2030, and notes that AI-focused facilities could triple their electricity use over the period, reaching an average of roughly double consumption versus 2025 by the end of the decade.
While data centers are expected to account for around 3% of worldwide electricity demand by 2030, OilPrice says the core challenge is not aggregate supply, but the mismatch between where and when demand arrives versus how quickly grids and power plants can be built.
OilPrice adds that proposed AI campuses could each require several gigawatts of capacity, arriving in concentrated locations and on shorter timelines than infrastructure can support, creating an “inflexibility problem” rather than a systemwide electricity shortage.