The new major IEA report provides today and a revolutionary analysis to one of the most urgent and less understood energy problems, exploring the wide range of potential IA impacts
Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the energy sector over the next decade, leading to an increase in demand for electricity in data centers around the world while unlocking significant opportunities to reduce costs, improve competitiveness and reduce emissions, according to a new major AIE report.
The Special Report of the IEA Energy and AIOut Today, to date offers the most complete global analysis and focused on increasing connections between energy and AI. The report is based on new data sets and an in -depth consultation with political decision -makers, the technology sector, the energy industry and international experts. It provides that the demand for electricity of data centers around the world is fixed more than double by 2030 to around 945 Terawatthours (TWH), a little more than all the electricity consumption of Japan today. The AI will be the most important engine of this increase, the demand for electricity of the data centers optimized by the AI projected more than quadruple by 2030.
In the United States, electricity consumption by data centers is about to take into account almost half of the growth in electricity demand by 2030. Taken by the use of AI, the American economy should consume more electricity in 2030 for the processing of data than for the manufacture of all combined energy intensity products, including aluminum, steel, cement and chemicals. In advanced economies more widely, data centers should lead to more than 20% of the growth in electricity demand by 2030, putting the electricity sector in these economies on a growth basis after years of stagnation or drop in demand in many of them.
A diversified range of energy sources will be used to meet the rising needs of data centers, depending on the report – although renewable energies and natural gas are ready to take the lead due to their competitiveness and their availability on the key markets.
“AI is one of the largest stories in the energy world today – but so far, political decision -makers and markets have not had the tools to fully understand the large -scale impacts,” said Executive director of IEA Fatih Birol. “Global demand for the electricity of data centers is paid more than double in the next five years, consuming as much electricity by 2030 as the whole of Japan today. The effects will be particularly strong in some countries. For example, in the United States, data centers are on capacity to take into account the growth in electricity demand; in Japan, more than half; and in Malaysia, as much as a file. “
The report underlines the important uncertainties that remain, from macroeconomic perspectives to the speed with which AI will be adopted. He also notes the questions about how capable and productive AI will become, how much efficiency improvements will occur and if the bottlenecks in the energy sector can be resolved.
AI could intensify certain energy safety strains while helping to solve others, according to the report. Cyberattacks on public energy services have tripled in the past four years and have become more sophisticated due to AI. At the same time, AI becomes an essential tool for energy companies to defend against such attacks. Another concern of energy security concerns the expansion of the request for critical minerals used in the equipment of the data centers which feed the AI. The report provides estimates for demanding demand for data centers for critical minerals, the global supply of which is very concentrated today.
Although the increase in electricity demand for data centers is set to increase emissions, this increase will be low in the context of the overall energy sector and could potentially be offset by the emissions activated by AI if the adoption of technology is widespread, according to the report. In addition, as AI becomes more and more integral to scientific discovery, the report finds that it could accelerate innovation in energy technologies such as batteries and solar PV.
“With the rise of AI, the energy sector is at the forefront of one of the most important technological revolutions of our time,” said Dr. Birol. “AI is a tool, potentially incredibly powerful, but it is to us – our societies, our governments and our companies – how we use it. The IAEA will continue to provide data, analysis and dialogue forums to help political decision -makers and other stakeholders to sail in the future way while the energy sector shapes the future of AI – and AI shapes the future of energy. “
According to the report, countries wishing to benefit from the potential of AI must quickly accelerate new investments in electricity production and networks, improve the efficiency and flexibility of data centers and strengthen dialogue between political decision -makers, the technology sector and the energy industry.
The report is part of the expansion work of the AIE analyzing the in -depth links between energy and AI. He relies on the World Energy and AI conference The AIE organized in December 2024 – the largest conference on this subject to date – and the agency Contributions to the top of AI action Chaired by France and India in February. The IEA will soon launch a new observatory on energy, AI and data centers, which will bring together the most complete and most recent data worldwide on AI electricity needs, in addition to monitoring advanced AI applications in the energy sector.
In addition to the report, the AIE publishes a new AI agent to help readers interact with its results. The AI agent is available on the main web page of the report and answers the content of the content in an easy and conversational way.
