Goldman Sachs Predicts 165 Percent Surge in Data Centre Electricity Amid AI Boom

What Happened

Goldman Sachs has released a report forecasting that global data centre electricity consumption will soar by 165 percent by the end of this decade. The projection is primarily attributed to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence workloads, cloud computing platforms, and the increasing number of hyperscale data facilities worldwide. The bank warns that this unprecedented demand will require significant upgrades to energy infrastructure and could strain power grids, pushing industry leaders and governments to find innovative solutions for sustainability. The findings also spark debate over future investments in renewable energy and more energy-efficient hardware for data centres.

Why It Matters

This sharp rise in energy consumption highlights the massive footprint of AI technologies and the digital economy. As organizations and cloud providers scale up to meet AI-related demand, new challenges emerge for power supply, sustainability, and emissions reduction. Read more in our AI News Hub