Meta's Mesa datacentre in the US
Energy’s electric shock
The scale of energy demand growth by 2030 and beyond asks huge questions of gas supply especially in the US
The IEA recently published a special study on energy and AI that builds on its global conference on the topic that took place in Paris last December. The report states that datacentres of all kinds accounted for 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024, amounting to 415TWh. That demand was highly concentrated, with the US accounting for 45% of consumption; China, 25%; Europe, 15%; and the rest of the world combined also 15%. According to the IEA’s forecast, datacentre demand is set to double by 2030, to around 945TWh, which is slightly more than Japan’s annual electricity consumption today. The projected rate of annual demand growth is 15% from 2024 to 2030, which is four times faster
Also in this section
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
8 January 2026
The region’s access to versatile feedstock, combined with policy support, is setting it up to meet growing demand both at home and abroad
7 January 2026
No longer can the energy source be considered a sidekick to oil in the Middle East and neither should it step aside for less convincing alternatives
