Issue 01 · November 2026Verified factsLinked sourcesBilingual
Prisma
ESEN
Topic 01

Data
centers

The buildings where the internet lives and AI is trained: how much electricity and water they use, and what changes where they're built.

Updated Nov 8, 20269 sources7-min read
CERN server room with long rows of racks under industrial lightingPhoto: Florian Hirzinger · CC BY-SA 3.0
Estimate~415 TWhElectricity used by the world's data centers in 2024, about 1.5% of the global total.1
Projection~945 TWh2030 projection in the base case: just under 3% of the global total.1
Measured4.4 %Of US electricity went to data centers in 2023 (176 TWh).2
Measured66Billion liters of water consumed directly by US data centers in 2023 (21.2 in 2014).2
Estimate12 %/yrAnnual growth in global data center electricity use over the last five years.1

01What is a data center?

A building full of computers (servers) that store data and run calculations for online services, business clouds and artificial intelligence.1

Besides servers, it has storage, networking gear, cooling systems and backup power (batteries and generators).1

~60 %

Servers

Average share of electricity in modern data centers; varies widely by type.1

7–30 %+

Cooling

From ~7% in efficient hyperscale sites to over 30% in less-efficient enterprise sites.1

≤5 %

Storage and network

Around 5% each.1

02Pros and cons

The most-cited arguments for and against, each with a figure and its source.

Pros

  1. ~60TWh/yr, 2014–2016Proven efficiencyUS use stayed nearly flat while the industry grew, thanks to cloud consolidation, better cooling and better-utilized servers.2
    Energy

    Source 2: 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) · Dec 2024.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  2. $1.2billion · FY2026Local revenueTaxes paid by data centers in Loudoun County, Virginia: 39% of the county budget.6
    Economy and jobs

    Source 6: Data Centers: The Loudoun Story — Loudoun County, Virginia · data as of Mar 1, 2026.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  3. 4.7million jobs · 2023Jobs and economyDirect, indirect and induced US jobs, plus $727 billion in GDP, per a PwC study commissioned by the industry.7
    Economy and jobs

    Source 7: Economic Contributions of Data Centers in the United States, 2017–2023 — PwC for the Data Center Coalition (industry association) · Feb 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  4. 50 %of the growthMore renewablesHalf of the increase in their demand would be met by renewables in the IEA base case.5
    Energy

    Source 5: Energy and AI — Executive summary — International Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  5. ~10 %of global growthLimited shareThey account for about a tenth of global electricity demand growth to 2030, less than air conditioning or electric vehicles.5
    Energy

    Source 5: Energy and AI — Executive summary — International Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  6. −20 %demand in 2035Room for efficiencyIn the IEA High Efficiency Case, 2035 demand would be 20% lower than in the base case.5
    Energy

    Source 5: Energy and AI — Executive summary — International Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

Cons

  1. 6.7–12 %of US electricity · 2028Rising power demandProjected range for 2028, up from 4.4% in 2023.2
    Energy

    Source 2: 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) · Dec 2024.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  2. $7.27billionCapacity costsIncrease attributed to data center load in PJM's 2026/2027 capacity auction (+82.1%), per its independent market monitor.8
    Economy and jobs

    Source 8: Analysis of the 2026/2027 RPM Base Residual Auction — Part A — Monitoring Analytics, Independent Market Monitor for PJM · Oct 1, 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  3. 300Mt CO₂ · 2035Rising emissionsEmissions from their electricity would rise from 180 to 300 million tonnes in the base case; among the fastest-growing sources.5
    Climate

    Source 5: Energy and AI — Executive summary — International Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  4. 3×water, 2014–2023More waterDirect US consumption rose from 21.2 to 66 billion liters.2
    Water

    Source 2: 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report — Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) · Dec 2024.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  5. <150permanent jobsFew permanent jobsEven at the largest sites; construction creates more jobs, but temporary ones.3
    Economy and jobs

    Source 3: From Energy Use to Air Quality, the Many Ways Data Centers Affect US Communities — World Resources Institute (WRI) · C. D. Walker, I. Goldsmith · Feb 17, 2026.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

  6. ~20 %of projectsGrid strainShare of planned projects that could be delayed by grid constraints, per the IEA.5
    Energy

    Source 5: Energy and AI — Executive summary — International Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025.

    Open the original document ↗ · See in Sources

Order does not indicate importance. Sources include public agencies, labs, local governments, the power market monitor, think tanks and an industry-commissioned study (PwC for the Data Center Coalition). Figures from different sources measure different things: for example, economy-wide jobs versus permanent jobs per site.

03Electricity

World data center electricity use

TWh. Switch views: observed, the base projection or the IEA's 2035 scenarios.

2024: ~415 TWh · 2030: ~945 TWh · 2035: ~1,200 TWh04509001,3501,800TWh~4152024estimate~9452030base case~1,2002035base case
Measured / estimatedProjection / scenario
World data center electricity use
TWh
2024~415
2030 (base)~945
2035 (base)~1,200
2035 high efficiency≈960
2035 all cases700–1,700

Source: IEA, Energy and AI1,5. “High efficiency” ≈960 TWh is our calculation from the IEA's 20% figure.

US data centers

TWh per year. 2018 and 2023 are consumption estimates; for 2028, LBNL gives a low and a high scenario.

2018: 76 TWh · 2023: 176 TWh · 2028: 325–580 TWh0150300450600TWh7620181.9 %17620234.4 %58032520286.7–12% (scenarios)
EstimatedProjected
US data centers
TWh%
2018761.9
20231764.4
2028 low3256.7
2028 high58012.0

Source: LBNL, 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report2

The IEA projects global use will roughly double by 2030, driven mostly by accelerated servers for AI.1

Even so, data centers would account for less than 10% of global electricity demand growth between 2024 and 2030; but they cluster in a few places, which makes grid connection harder.1

The IEA warns there is substantial uncertainty and publishes several scenarios.1

04Water

Direct water consumption in the US

Billions of liters per year, mostly for cooling.

2014: 21.2 billion liters · 2023: 66 billion liters020406080billion liters21.22014662023
Estimated
Direct water consumption in the US
billion liters
201421.2
202366

Source: LBNL2

Direct water consumption tripled between 2014 and 2023, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.2

~800

billion liters

Indirect water footprint in 2023: water used to generate their electricity.2

60–124

billion liters

Projection for hyperscale data centers in 2028 (range).2

Some sites cut water use with air cooling or liquid immersion; others use reclaimed wastewater instead of local supplies.3

05Calculator: what does it equal?

Pick a data center's size and how much of its capacity it uses on average.

An AI-focused site can have hundreds of MW.
50% is LBNL's assumption for converting energy to power.2
Energy per year438,000MWh
Equals the use of40,589US homes
Estimated direct water164million liters a year

Formula and assumptions

  1. Annual energy (MWh) = MW × 8,760 hours × utilization.
  2. Homes = energy ÷ 10,791 kWh, the average annual use of a US residential customer in 2022.9
  3. Direct water ≈ energy × 0.375 L/kWh: US average in 2023 (66 billion liters ÷ 176 TWh), our calculation from LBNL data. Many sites use far less water, others more.2

This is a simple estimate, not a real site's figure. For reference, the IEA says a typical AI-focused data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 households, and the largest under construction 20 times more.5

06Local impacts

What the World Resources Institute (WRI) reports for the US. These are figures WRI compiles from third parties.3

~3,900

US data centers

Includes operating, planned and under-construction sites (January 2026); about 37% of the world total.3

224

acres per site

Average site size in 2024, 144% more than in 2022.3

<150

permanent jobs

Even the largest, per a review of 1,200+ sites; construction creates more temporary jobs.3

25 / 31

towns with NDAs

Virginia municipalities with non-disclosure agreements with developers, in a review cited by WRI.3

  • Power bills: some states and utilities create special rates for large users so costs aren't shifted to households.3
  • Air and noise: backup generators and gas turbines emit pollutants; cooling and generator noise has drawn complaints from neighbors, for example in Loudoun County, Virginia.3
  • Public revenue: they pay taxes, though many places offer tax incentives that reduce that gain.3 In Loudoun County, Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centers, they contributed $1.2 billion in fiscal 2026 (39% of the budget); the county says it is working to diversify its revenue so as not to depend on them.6
  • Jobs: Loudoun reports more than 17,000 direct and indirect data center-related jobs, along with residents' concerns about water, noise, air quality and aesthetics.6
“Little is known about long-term health outcomes in data center host communities.”Tao and Gao, Eco-Environment & Health (2025), calling for more empirical research4

07Myth or fact?

  1. 1Data centers use more than half of the world's electricity.

    Show answer

    Myth. They used about 1.5% in 2024 (about 415 TWh).1

  2. 2In the US, their electricity use stayed nearly flat between 2014 and 2016.

    Show answer

    Fact. It hovered around 60 TWh a year thanks to efficiency gains.2

  3. 3They will account for most of the growth in global electricity demand to 2030.

    Show answer

    Myth. Per the IEA, about a tenth; in the US, however, nearly half.5

  4. 4Their direct water use in the US tripled between 2014 and 2023.

    Show answer

    Fact. It went from 21.2 to 66 billion liters.2

08FAQ

How much is 415 TWh?
About 1.5% of all electricity consumed worldwide in 2024, according to the IEA's estimate.1
Is AI driving the growth?
In the IEA base case, accelerated servers (used mainly for AI) account for almost half of the net increase to 2030; conventional servers about 20%.1
Why ranges instead of one number?
The future depends on how many chips are installed, how efficient they are and the cooling type. That's why LBNL gives 325–580 TWh for the US in 2028.2
Do they create many jobs?
It depends on what is measured. A large site usually has fewer than 150 permanent jobs3; Loudoun County counts more than 17,000 direct and indirect jobs6; and an industry-commissioned PwC study estimates 4.7 million US jobs when indirect and induced effects are included.7
Do all data centers use a lot of water?
No. It depends on the cooling system and climate; some use air, liquid immersion or treated wastewater.3

09Sources

  1. Energy and AI — Energy demand from AIInternational Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  2. 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage ReportLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) · Dec 2024 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  3. From Energy Use to Air Quality, the Many Ways Data Centers Affect US CommunitiesWorld Resources Institute (WRI) · C. D. Walker, I. Goldsmith · Feb 17, 2026 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  4. Global data center expansion and human health: A call for empirical researchY. Tao, P. Gao · Eco-Environment & Health · PubMed Central · 2025 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  5. Energy and AI — Executive summaryInternational Energy Agency (IEA) · Apr 2025 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  6. Data Centers: The Loudoun StoryLoudoun County, Virginia · data as of Mar 1, 2026 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  7. Economic Contributions of Data Centers in the United States, 2017–2023PwC for the Data Center Coalition (industry association) · Feb 2025 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  8. Analysis of the 2026/2027 RPM Base Residual Auction — Part AMonitoring Analytics, Independent Market Monitor for PJM · Oct 1, 2025 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  9. How much electricity does an American home use?U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) · updated Jan 8, 2024 · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  10. File:CERN Server 03.jpg (Florian Hirzinger, CC BY-SA 3.0)Wikimedia Commons · Accessed Nov 8, 2026
  11. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0Creative Commons · Accessed Nov 8, 2026

Figures for 2024 and earlier are the sources' estimates; 2028 and 2030 figures are projections or scenarios. Citing a source does not imply endorsing its conclusions.