For more information read our Science Note Powering Data Centers
In 2022, data centers globally consumed about 240-340 terawatt-hours (TWh) (International Energy Agency 2023). In 2023, U.S. data centers used 176 TWh annually, or about 4% of total electricity consumption (Shehabi et al. 2024, Figure 1). Projections for 2028 estimate that U.S. data centers’ electricity use could range from 325 to 580 TWh. This would almost double (7%) to triple (12%) their current share of U.S. electricity consumption in the next three years. The U.S. has the largest number of data centers in the world with approximately 5,427 data centers (Cloudscene 2025). Data centers are usually built close to users to ensure access and performance (Goiri et al. 2011).
Data centers’ power demand depends on data center type (Shehabi et al. 2024). A single small data center requires about 500 kilowatts (kW) to 2 megawatts (MW) of electricity at any given moment. Over the course of a year, with continuous use, a small data center can use between 4,380 to 17,520 MWh. Small data centers serve small businesses, government, and larger corporations. They account for approximately half of all servers (Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) 2024). A single large-scale data center can require 100MW or more at any given moment (Spencer & Siddharth 2024). Over the course of a year, with continuous use at full capacity, a single center requiring 100 MW could use a total of 8.7 TWh. Large scale data centers serve multiple businesses or entire industries (EPRI 2024). In 2023, MO’s net electricity generation was 66.7 TWh (Energy Information Administration 2024).
Figure 1. Total U.S. data center electricity use from 2014 through 2028. Historical electricity consumption and estimated future energy consumption of U.S. data centers. From Shehabi et al. 2024.
References
Cloudscene (2025) Market profile United States of America. https://cloudscene.com/market/data-centers-in-united-states/all.
Department of Energy (2017) Small Data Centers, Big Energy Savings: An Introduction for Owners and Operators: Final Report. Link
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) (2024) Powering Intelligence: Analyzing Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Energy Consumption.https://www.epri.com/research/products/000000003002028905
Goiri Í, Le K, Guitart J, Torres J, Bianchini R (2011) Intelligent placement of datacenters for internet services. In 2011 31st International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems. IEEE: 131-142. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5961695
International Energy Agency (2023) Data Centres and Data Transmission Networks. https://www.iea.org/energy-system/buildings/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Spencer T, Siddharth S (2024) What the data centre and AI boom could mean for the energy sector. International Energy Agency https://www.iea.org/commentaries/what-the-data-centre-and-ai-boom-could-mean-for-the-energy-sector.
Shehabi A, Smith SJ, Hubbart A, Newkirk A, Lei N, Siddik MAB, Holecek B, Koomey J, Masanet E, Sartor D (2024) 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. LBNL-200163. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32d6m0d1.
