Bloomberg AI & Energy Forum

US data-center electricity use is poised to surge 4-10x by 2030, according to our calculations, and we believe such growth will drive demand for solar plus battery storage and gas generation. Spending on generative AI — including hardware, software and other IT services — will increase at a compound annual rate of 41% over 2024-32, based on a deep dive published by Bloomberg Intelligence’s global technology team. The build-out of data centers, cloud infrastructure and other IT resources to enable such growth is likely to be accompanied by a surge in power demand — particularly in the US, a leader in such trends.

If our scenario unfolds for a 10x increase in AI and data-center energy needs, the latter could consume about 17% of US electric power generation in 2030 and make it challenging for US utilities to match the pace of growth. Given their focus on ESG and sustainability goals, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and other AI hyperscalers are likely to have a strong preference for lower-emitting sources of power — including solar, wind, battery storage and natural gas.

Join the team from Bloomberg Intelligence and BloombergNEF for a discussion about these topics, and their impacts on commodities, renewables, and corporate energy procurement.