Mckinsey: Energy demand for data centers in Europe will triple by 2030

Electricity consumption in European data centers is expected to almost triple by 2030 and will require increased electricity generation, mainly from low-carbon sources, combined with upgrades to grid infrastructure, reported McKinsey. According to the global business management consultant, total IT load demand for data centers in the European Union, Norway, Switzerland and Britain will reach 35 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 10 GW today.

European data centers are expected to account for around 5% of the continent’s total consumption over the next six years, up from around 2% today. McKinsey estimates that Europe will need to invest between $250 billion and $300 billion in data center infrastructure, not including power generation capacity.

“To meet demand (increased electricity), there will need to be a considerable increase in electricity supply; a notable change for Europe, where overall electricity demand has remained relatively stagnant since 2007“, says the McKinsey report.

But the increase in data center power consumption will not be limited to Europe alone. Last year, power industry consulting firm Grid Strategies released a report titled “The Era of Stagnating Electricity Demand Is Over,” which noted that U.S. grid planners – utilities and regional transport operators (RTOs) – had almost doubled their growth forecasts. in their five-year demand forecasts. For the first time in decades, U.S. electricity demand is expected to increase by up to 15% over the next decade, driven by the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), energy own and cryptocurrencies.

AI, in particular, is expected to drive much of this increase in energy demand. According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), data centers will consume up to 9% of total electricity generated in the United States by the end of the decade, up from about 1.5% currently thanks to rapid adoption of energy technologies. greedy technologies such as generative AI. To give some perspective, last year, U.S. industrial sector energy consumed 1.02 million GWh, or 26% of U.S. electricity consumption.

Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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