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IEA projects data-centre electricity near 950 TWh by 2030

The IEA central projection roughly doubles data-centre electricity from 485 TWh in 2025 to 950 TWh in 2030.

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What this establishes

The projection is a forecast with stated bottlenecks reducing the likelihood of more aggressive near-term scenarios.

Why it matters: It supplies a shared numerical baseline for grid planning and AI infrastructure policy.

Limits and context: The same summary notes upside cases and supply-chain constraints that can change outcomes after 2030.

Exact passage

IEA Key Questions on Energy and AI · Executive summary
Our updated projections see electricity consumption from data centres roughly doubling from 485 TWh in 2025 to 950 TWh in 2030, accounting for around 3% of global electricity demand by that date.

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