From the article: [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]
From the article:
We can look at this question on two levels. The first is the total amount of electricity AI uses. The second is about individual impact, or how much electricity each query consumes.
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Non-AI data centers consumed two-thirds of the total, and AI-focused ones, the remaining third. Based on this data from the International Energy Agency, I estimate that AI consumed around 0.5% of the world’s electricity in 2025.4
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Given how quickly demand for AI has been increasing, it might be surprising that AI-focused data centers consume less, on aggregate, than non-AI ones. Projections expect this gap to close quickly. In the chart, I’ve also included the IEA’s base-case projection of data center demand in 2030.
These projections are highly uncertain, and some have argued that the IEA is among the most conservative in its assessment of AI demand growth. Even so, most of the growth in data center demand will come from AI-focused facilities. In this scenario, data centers grow to 3% of global electricity in 2030, and AI centers then use about the same amount as non-AI ones.
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1.5% of the world’s electricity might not seem like much. But in some places, that share is far higher. This is really the key challenge with growing data center demand: it’s geographically concentrated, meaning the world’s demand is served by a small number of electricity grids.
In the chart, you can see the share of electricity used for data centers in different regions. 5% of electricity in the United States is used to power data centers. For AI-focused ones specifically, it’s probably around 2%.
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But in fact, this demand is even more locally concentrated. Beneath Europe’s 1.6% figure, we have Ireland, where data centers account for more than 20% of electricity consumption. Beneath the 5% US figure, there are states where data centers make up more than 10% of demand.6 In states such as Virginia, it’s more than one-quarter.
This, combined with the rapid pace of AI growth, could put pressure on local grids, even if total electricity demand is not overwhelming for the world as a whole.
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For longer queries or requests that rely on AI agents or reasoning, the footprint is higher. Epoch AI estimated that a long query (7,500 words of input) could consume about 2.5 Wh, and a very long one (75,000 words) could consume 40 Wh. Those are far higher than the simple text query.
There are fewer estimates for other types of requests. In its 2026 report, the IEA provides estimates of GPU electricity consumption for agentic tasks with reasoning.7 A standard request to an AI agent — such as Claude — is estimated to consume around 1.1 Wh. An agentic request with reasoning, around 50 Wh. This is similar to the estimates for maximum-length text queries.
However, all of these are still relatively small compared to the average person’s daily electricity consumption, especially in high-income countries.
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While we don’t know how much AI energy demand will grow in the future, the key points we learn from the data today are likely to hold true. For an individual worried about their own use of AI, the energy use of individual chatbot queries is small. For the world as a whole, data centers make up a relatively small share of total electricity consumption, and that won’t change in the coming years. The issue is that supply is so geographically concentrated: whether grids can meet this surge in demand while keeping emissions and local prices under control is the real test.
A final point that’s worth keeping in mind is that the figures we’ve looked at measure electricity consumption, not carbon emissions. For those worried about the climate impacts of data centers and AI, how that electricity is generated arguably matters more than how much it uses. A query served by a data center on a coal-dominated grid will have a much larger impact than one running on a renewables- or nuclear-heavy one. How the growth of AI affects emissions depends not just on its energy efficiency and demand, but also on how clean the grids are that supply it.
Bear in mind that global energy consumption typically grows on the average of 1-3% annually. 2% of the global energy usage for a tech that defacto did not exist 10 years ago is somewhat...
Bear in mind that global energy consumption typically grows on the average of 1-3% annually. 2% of the global energy usage for a tech that defacto did not exist 10 years ago is somewhat outrageous.
Another way to phrase this is "AI has more than doubled the amount of new energy buildout required."
Or another way: AI is consuming resources that should otherwise be directed at converting all the oil/gas home heating and cooking to electric.
Another way to frame it is that AI companies have deep pockets and would probably would be quite willing to pay for lots of expensive electricity infrastructure upgrades, for themselves and...
Another way to frame it is that AI companies have deep pockets and would probably would be quite willing to pay for lots of expensive electricity infrastructure upgrades, for themselves and everyone else, if deals can be negotiated. That's an opportunity for the communities where data centers are built. It seems better to somehow get big tech to pay for things to fund everything off residential rate payers or taxpayers?
Also, if the resources being consumed are mostly sunlight and wind, it's not so bad to use more. That could probably be negotiated too if communities are smart about it.
Also, though they don't create that many jobs, data centers should be paying taxes that can fund other things like schools.
It all depends on what kind of deals communities can negotiate for themselves.
From the article:
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Bear in mind that global energy consumption typically grows on the average of 1-3% annually. 2% of the global energy usage for a tech that defacto did not exist 10 years ago is somewhat outrageous.
Another way to phrase this is "AI has more than doubled the amount of new energy buildout required."
Or another way: AI is consuming resources that should otherwise be directed at converting all the oil/gas home heating and cooking to electric.
Another way to frame it is that AI companies have deep pockets and would probably would be quite willing to pay for lots of expensive electricity infrastructure upgrades, for themselves and everyone else, if deals can be negotiated. That's an opportunity for the communities where data centers are built. It seems better to somehow get big tech to pay for things to fund everything off residential rate payers or taxpayers?
Also, if the resources being consumed are mostly sunlight and wind, it's not so bad to use more. That could probably be negotiated too if communities are smart about it.
Also, though they don't create that many jobs, data centers should be paying taxes that can fund other things like schools.
It all depends on what kind of deals communities can negotiate for themselves.