A new report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that data center load growth has tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple by 2028.
The report, the 2024 Report on U.S. Data Center Energy Use produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was released in late December and outlines the energy use of data centers from 2014 to 2028. LBNL is a Department of Energy lab.
U.S. electricity demand is projected to account for data center expansion and the rise of artificial intelligence applications, domestic manufacturing growth, and electrification of different industries.
“DOE has anticipated this growing demand trend — it reflects robust industrial investments in America and national leadership on technology innovation. The Department continues to develop advanced technologies and leverage its resources to meet rising electricity demand in the United States while maintaining a reliable, affordable, and secure national energy system,” it said.
The report finds that data centers consumed about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and are expected to consume approximately 6.7 to 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028. The report indicates that total data center electricity usage climbed from 58 TWh in 2014 to 176 TWh in 2023 and estimates an increase between 325 to 580 TWh by 2028.
DOE’s key strategies for meeting data center energy demand include:
- Enabling data center flexibility through onsite power generation and storage solutions, including the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office’s Onsite Energy Program and new Industrial Energy Storage Systems Prize, so data centers can be a grid asset rather than a burden.
- Leveraging energy community opportunities to re-use infrastructure at retired coal facilities for data centers and associated power infrastructure.
- Engaging with stakeholders on innovative rate structures to support data center expansion while maintaining affordability.
- Commercializing key enabling technologies such as next-generation geothermal, advanced nuclear, long-duration storage, and efficient semiconductor technologies.
DOE has over 30 programs that can support data center energy needs and a suite of resources, including DOE’s Electricity Demand Growth Resource Hub, which provides information on DOE tools available to support data center owners and operators, utilities, and regulators.
The Department also provides technical assistance to support states, utilities, grid operators and technology developers right-size the grid in the midst of demand growth through the Supercharging the Electric Grid effort.
DOE also provides direct support for inquiries through [email protected].
