Gartner forecasts 26% surge in data centre energy use
Global electricity consumption by data centres is expected to increase by 26 per cent in 2026, driven largely by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence workloads, according to new research from Gartner.
The research firm forecasts worldwide data centre electricity consumption will reach 565 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2026, up from an estimated 447 TWh in 2025. The increase reflects growing demand for compute-intensive AI applications and the accelerating deployment of AI infrastructure across industries.
According to Gartner, global data centre power demand is projected to rise from 104 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 to 132 GW in 2026, representing annual growth of approximately 27 per cent. Looking further ahead, demand is expected to reach 290 GW by 2030 as organisations continue investing in generative AI and advanced computing capabilities.
AI infrastructure driving power consumption growth
The report identifies AI-optimised servers as the primary contributor to rising electricity consumption.
Gartner estimates...
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