An executive summary of the IEA’s industry outlook for global electricity demand and power-system development through 2030. Data centers and AI are identified as major drivers of accelerating demand, particularly in advanced economies and the United States. The report examines how growing concentrated loads affect generation, grid infrastructure, system flexibility, affordability and security of supply.
Key Takeaways
Global electricity demand is set to grow rapidly through 2030, with data centers explicitly identified alongside industry, electric vehicles and air conditioning as key demand drivers.
After a prolonged period of stagnation, electricity demand in advanced economies is growing again, driven by AI, data centers and advanced manufacturing; in the United States, data-center expansion accounts for around half of projected demand growth.
The growth of renewables and concentrated loads is increasing the need for grid infrastructure and short-duration system flexibility, with utility-scale BESS becoming an important source of that flexibility.
Renewables, gas-fired generation and nuclear power are expected to meet all additional global electricity demand over 2026–2030, while coal generation’s role declines.
Security of supply is becoming a critical constraint: outages in 2025 exposed the risks associated with ageing grids, extreme weather, cyber threats and physical attacks.
Key Figures
Projected average annual growth in global electricity demand
3.6 %
2026–2030; data centers are identified among the demand drivers.
Growth in global electricity demand
3 %
Year-on-year in 2025.
Growth in global electricity demand
4.4 %
Year-on-year in 2024.
Projected demand-growth rate relative to the previous decade’s average
50 %
Average annual growth over the next five years compared with the average for the preceding decade.
Relative growth rate of electricity consumption versus total energy demand
2.5 раза
Through 2030, electricity consumption will grow at least this much faster.
Developing economies’ share of additional global electricity consumption
80 %
Nearly this share of additional consumption through 2030.
China’s share of global electricity-demand growth
50 %
Nearly this share of the increase through 2030.
Average annual growth in electricity demand in China
4.9 %
Outlook through 2030.
Advanced economies’ share of global electricity-demand growth
20 %
Nearly this share in 2025; expected to remain at roughly this average level over the forecast period.
Growth in electricity demand in the United States
2.1 %
Year-on-year in 2025.
Projected average annual growth in electricity demand in the United States
почти 2 %
Annual growth through 2030.
Data centers’ contribution to projected demand growth in the United States
около половины
Share of total electricity-demand growth through 2030.
Practical Value for Data Center Owners
For data-center owners and investors, this provides a macro-level energy framework for site selection and connection-capacity planning: available grid capacity, grid-reinforcement timelines and local flexibility are becoming as important as electricity prices. At the concept-design stage, projects should assess scenarios involving insufficient grid capacity, tariff risks, and the potential for BESS or other dispatchable resources. In the United States, a further key consideration is that data centers account for around half of expected electricity-demand growth.
This technical paper from Dominion Energy examines how scenario-based system-load forecasts at different time granularities can support long-term assessment of planned transmission outages. It is set against rapid growth in hyperscale data-center and AI load in Northern Virginia, which requires new and reinforced grid infrastructure. The authors compare the conventional use of monthly or seasonal peak demand with coordinated daily, weekly, and monthly forecasts, finding that the latter can enable more outage coordination without weakening the N-1 reliability criterion.
AI data-center loadLarge-load interconnectionPlanned grid outagesTransmission grid
A special World Energy Outlook report by the International Energy Agency examining the relationship between AI development and energy. It analyses growth in data-centre electricity consumption and capital expenditure, the physical constraints on scaling AI infrastructure, power-supply options, and implications for energy systems, prices and emissions. It also considers AI’s impact on energy and industrial efficiency, as well as demand scenarios through 2030.
AI data centersData center power supplyGrid interconnectionLiquid cooling
A Deloitte analysis of the growth in data center infrastructure for AI workloads and its implications for the U.S. power system. It uses DC Byte and Wood Mackenzie data, estimates of AI data center penetration, and projections through 2035 to assess capacity. The focus is on interconnection and generation shortfalls, the impact on utility capital expenditures, and potential sources of and approaches to accelerating power supply for large AI sites.
AI data centersdata center power supplygrid interconnectionbehind-the-meter generation