Servers alone already accounted for an estimated 7% of all commercial sector electricity in 2025. By 2050 that share climbs to between 22% and 33% across scenarios in the agency’s Annual Energy Outlook 2026, released in April. Server consumption could reach as high as 818 billion kWh by midcentury in the high-demand case. Standalone data centers drive much of the increase. EIA’s Today in Energy analysis lays out the long-term math.
Recent data sharpen the picture. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in a report released through the Department of Energy, put 2023 data center consumption at 176 terawatt-hours. That equals 4.4% of total U.S. electricity. The lab projects 325 to 580 TWh by 2028, or 6.7% to 12% of national supply. Energy.gov summarized those findings in December 2024.
Goldman Sachs Research goes further on near-term power draw. The bank forecasts U.S. data center demand will more than double to 66 gigawatts in 2027 from 31 GW in 2025. Capacity additions accelerate to 36.3 GW that year after 13.6 GW in 2026. The analysis draws on granular facility data from Aterio, including permits, construction status and satellite imagery. Goldman Sachs published the note in May 2026.
https://www.webpronews.com/ai-data-centers-push-u-s-power-demand-to-fresh-records-through-2027/