{"id":11889,"date":"2026-07-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/?p=11889"},"modified":"2026-07-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:00:00","slug":"how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/?p=11889","title":{"rendered":"How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"centered-article-header__breadcrumbs-container col-start-4 span-cols-8 col-md-start-2 span-md-cols-12\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/\">Home<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/energy\" data-track-note=\"breadcrumb\">Energy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<header class=\"centered-article-header align-center grid grid-cols-8 span-cols-8 col-start-4 grid-md-cols-6 span-md-cols-12 col-md-start-2\">\n<div class=\"centered-article-header__meta-container col-start-2 span-cols-6 span-md-cols-6 col-md-start-1 grid grid-cols-2\">\n<div class=\"centered-article-header__meta-container-left span-cols-1 span-sm-cols-2\">\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/team\/hannah-ritchie\">Hannah Ritchie<\/a><\/p>\n<p>July 20, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#article-citation\" class=\"display-block\">Cite this article<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#article-licence\" class=\"display-block\">Reuse our work freely<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Few \u2014 if any \u2014 technologies have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/system\/files\/working_papers\/w32966\/w32966.pdf\" class=\"span-link\">adopted as quickly<\/a> as artificial intelligence (AI). Since that computation runs on electricity, discussions around AI often return to what this means for energy demand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">These concerns tend to take three forms. One is environmental: growing energy demand for artificial intelligence will drive increases in carbon emissions, and make it harder to decarbonize. Another is the impact on local communities: high electricity demand could strain local supplies and push up energy prices. The third is that AI\u2019s energy consumption could be the technology\u2019s bottleneck; for those who want to see it expand, this could be a key limiting factor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">How much energy, then, does AI consume?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">We can look at this question on two levels. The first is the total amount of electricity AI uses. The second is about individual impact, or how much electricity each query consumes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">In this article, I try to answer both of these questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Before digging into the data, it\u2019s worth clarifying what is included in AI energy consumption. It\u2019s the electricity consumed for both training and running the models (called \u201cinference\u201d). Tech companies rarely publish data on how much energy is consumed when training their models, but based on the estimates we do have, it\u2019s likely that energy demand is dominated by inference, not training.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-1\" class=\"ref\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">The estimates we\u2019ll look at include the electricity used specifically for the servers, plus additional energy used for cooling, lighting, and other things needed to keep the data centers running. They don\u2019t include the energy used to power the device \u2014 a laptop, desktop, or phone \u2014 that someone is using to access AI. Importantly \u2014 and this matters when comparing to other sources \u2014 they do not include demand from cryptocurrency mining.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Let\u2019s start with the big picture. How much electricity did data centers consume last year?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), around 485 terawatt-hours (TWh).<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-2\" class=\"ref\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a> That\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/explorers\/energy?tab=line&amp;country=~DEU&amp;mapSelect=~DEU&amp;Total+or+Breakdown=Total&amp;Energy+or+Electricity=Electricity+only&amp;Metric=Annual+generation\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">equivalent to<\/a> the annual electricity generation of Germany. And for context, that\u2019s around <strong>1.5% of the world\u2019s electricity generation<\/strong>.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-3\" class=\"ref\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<aside class=\"body-3-medium-italic article-block__aside article-block__aside--right col-start-11 span-cols-3 span-md-cols-10 col-md-start-3 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Another source, the Energy Institute, estimates that data center power demand \u2014 including crypto mining \u2014 was around 790 TWh in 2025 (or 2.5% of global electricity generation). See below for more on why they differ.<\/aside>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Now, data centers are more than just AI: they\u2019re facilities that contain the servers and IT infrastructure behind all of our digital services. That\u2019s everything from email and Internet browsing to Netflix streaming, Google Maps, online banking, and messaging friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">AI data centers are dedicated facilities for running AI models. The distinction between the two is not always clean-cut, but the chart below shows an estimated breakdown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Non-AI data centers consumed two-thirds of the total, and AI-focused ones, the remaining third. Based on this data from the International Energy Agency, I estimate that <strong>AI consumed around 0.5% of the world\u2019s electricity<\/strong> in 2025.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-4\" class=\"ref\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Electricity currently accounts for around one-fifth of the world\u2019s primary energy consumption.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-5\" class=\"ref\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/a> Hence, AI likely consumed 0.1% to 0.2% of total primary energy in 2025.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"article-block__image article-block__image--narrow col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 col-sm-start-2 span-sm-cols-12\">\n<div class=\"image image--has-outline\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/cdn-cgi\/imagedelivery\/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g\/a5954a39-d433-405d-78bf-09691f1beb00\/w=1620\" alt=\"Stacked bar chart of projected global electricity use by data centers in 2025 and a base-case projection for 2030, where most of the increase is expected to come from AI-focused data centers. It shows totals rising from 485 TWh (1.5% of global electricity) in 2025 \u2014 split into 155 TWh for AI-focused and 330 TWh for non-AI centers \u2014 to 945 TWh (3% of global electricity) in 2030 \u2014 split into 465 TWh AI-focused and 480 TWh non-AI. Data source: IEA (2026). License: CC BY to Our World in Data.\" class=\"lightbox-image\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1620\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Given how quickly demand for AI has been increasing, it might be surprising that AI-focused data centers consume less, on aggregate, than non-AI ones. Projections expect this gap to close quickly. In the chart, I\u2019ve also included the IEA\u2019s base-case projection of data center demand in 2030.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">These projections are highly uncertain, and some have argued that the IEA is among the most conservative in its assessment of AI demand growth. Even so, most of the growth in data center demand will come from AI-focused facilities. In this scenario, data centers grow to 3% of global electricity in 2030, and AI centers then use about the same amount as non-AI ones.<\/p>\n<details class=\"expander article-block__expander col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">\n<summary class=\"expander__summary\">Additional informationHow do estimates of data center electricity demand vary by source?<\/summary>\n<\/details>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">1.5% of the world\u2019s electricity might not seem like much. But in some places, that share is far higher. This is really the key challenge with growing data center demand: it\u2019s geographically concentrated, meaning the world\u2019s demand is served by a small number of electricity grids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">In the chart, you can see the share of electricity used for data centers in different regions. 5% of electricity in the United States is used to power data centers. For AI-focused ones specifically, it\u2019s probably around 2%.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-block__pull-quote--right-center col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">\n<blockquote class=\"right-center\">\n<div>Beneath Europe\u2019s 1.6% figure, we have Ireland, where data centers account for more than 20% of electricity consumption.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">But in fact, this demand is even more locally concentrated. Beneath Europe\u2019s 1.6% figure, we have Ireland, where data centers account for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cso.ie\/en\/releasesandpublications\/ep\/p-dcmec\/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2023\/keyfindings\/\" class=\"span-link\">more than<\/a> 20% of electricity consumption. Beneath the 5% US figure, there are states where data centers make up <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/us-states-data-centers-electricity-use-share-ai-tech-1851708857\" class=\"span-link\">more than<\/a> 10% of demand.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-6\" class=\"ref\"><sup>6<\/sup><\/a> In states such as Virginia, <a href=\"https:\/\/powering-intelligence.epri.com\/executive-summary.html\" class=\"span-link\">it\u2019s more than<\/a> one-quarter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">This, combined with the rapid pace of AI growth, could put pressure on local grids, even if total electricity demand is not overwhelming for the world as a whole.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">I know many people who are conscious of their own use of large language models (LLMs) and AI tools for environmental reasons. Some abstain or use them as little as possible. Others continue to do so, but feel guilty for it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">How much energy do our individual queries consume? If someone asks an LLM \u2014 like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude \u2014 a question, how much additional electricity demand do they generate?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Again, accurate and up-to-date figures on this are hard to find because most technology companies have not released detailed analyses of the energy consumption of their models.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">One of the first companies to do so was Google; in 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/blog\/products\/infrastructure\/measuring-the-environmental-impact-of-ai-inference\/\" class=\"span-link\">it released<\/a> energy estimates for its Gemini model. It estimated the <em>median <\/em>text-based query (basically asking Gemini a text question) consumed around 0.24 watt-hours (Wh) of electricity. For context, that\u2019s the amount of energy a microwave would consume in less than one second, or a television for ten seconds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, also <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.samaltman.com\/the-gentle-singularity\" class=\"span-link\">previously wrote<\/a> that an \u201caverage query\u201d on ChatGPT consumed around 0.34 Wh (but without a detailed breakdown of where this number comes from). Epoch AI also provided its own independent <a href=\"https:\/\/epoch.ai\/gradient-updates\/how-much-energy-does-chatgpt-use\" class=\"span-link\">estimate of<\/a> around 0.3 Wh for a \u201ctypical\u201d ChatGPT query.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">So a number of sources tend to converge on a similar figure. However, most queries are simple, so the median query is probably small in both size and complexity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">For longer queries or requests that rely on AI agents or reasoning, the footprint is higher. Epoch AI estimated that a long query (7,500 words of input) could consume about 2.5 Wh, and a <em>very<\/em> long one (75,000 words) could consume 40 Wh. Those are far higher than the simple text query.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">There are fewer estimates for other types of requests. In its 2026 report, the IEA provides estimates of GPU electricity consumption for agentic tasks with reasoning.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-7\" class=\"ref\"><sup>7<\/sup><\/a> A standard request to an AI agent \u2014 such as Claude \u2014 is estimated to consume around 1.1 Wh. An agentic request <em>with<\/em> reasoning, around 50 Wh. This is similar to the estimates for maximum-length text queries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">However, all of these are still relatively small compared to the average person\u2019s daily electricity consumption, especially in high-income countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">In the European Union, average electricity consumption per person is around 17,000 Wh per day.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-8\" class=\"ref\"><sup>8<\/sup><\/a> That\u2019s equivalent to around 6,800 long-input queries (which consume 2.5 Wh each). Or 425 of the maximum-input queries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">The average person in the US consumes approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/grapher\/per-capita-electricity-generation?tab=line&amp;country=OWID_EU27~USA&amp;mapSelect=~OWID_EU27\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">twice as much electricity<\/a> as the EU average, so the contribution of AI queries to someone\u2019s footprint there is about half the size.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-9\" class=\"ref\"><sup>9<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">In the chart below, I\u2019ve provided some comparisons to give a sense of how this energy consumption compares to other products or activities.<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use#note-10\" class=\"ref\"><sup>10<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"article-block__image article-block__image--wide col-start-4 span-cols-8 col-md-start-2 span-md-cols-12\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/cdn-cgi\/imagedelivery\/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g\/6e30a807-7a61-448d-79f3-25e38325b800\/w=2550\" alt=\"Bar chart of marginal electricity consumption in watt-hours for individual AI queries and everyday activities where it compares energy per event \u2014 showing a typical ChatGPT query at about 0.3 Wh and a maximum-input (75,000 words) query at about 40 Wh, while everyday activities range up to about 160 Wh for a one-minute electric shower. Source: AI text query estimates from EpochAI (2025); chart by Our World in Data.\" class=\"lightbox-image\" width=\"2550\" height=\"1914\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">In this article, I\u2019ve focused on historical estimates of data center and AI demand. Getting reasonable recent estimates of how much electricity these are already consuming was already difficult. Predicting how this will change in the future is even more difficult.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">There is a wide range of estimates for future demand, and the differences between them tend to grow the further into the future you go. This divergence is particularly clear after 2030, since much of the medium-term demand pre-2030 relies on infrastructure being built today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Future demand will depend on a range of factors. Not just how user demand grows, but also how the efficiency of chips and other hardware grows, too. The IEA, for example, has <a href=\"https:\/\/hannahritchie.substack.com\/i\/196507057\/how-have-the-ieas-projections-changed\" class=\"span-link\">four future scenarios<\/a>: one projects far higher user demand growth, and another sees much faster efficiency gains.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-block__pull-quote--left span-cols-14 grid grid-cols-12-full-width\">\n<blockquote class=\"left\">\n<div>For those worried about the climate impacts of data centers and AI, how that electricity is generated arguably matters more than how much it uses.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">While we don\u2019t know how much AI energy demand will grow in the future, the key points we learn from the data today are likely to hold true. For an individual worried about their own use of AI, the energy use of individual chatbot queries is small. For the world as a whole, data centers make up a relatively small share of total electricity consumption, and that won\u2019t change in the coming years. The issue is that supply is so geographically concentrated: whether grids can meet this surge in demand while keeping emissions and local prices under control is the real test.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">A final point that\u2019s worth keeping in mind is that the figures we\u2019ve looked at measure electricity consumption, not carbon emissions. For those worried about the climate impacts of data centers and AI, <em>how<\/em> that electricity is generated arguably matters more than how much it uses. A query served by a data center on a coal-dominated grid will have a much larger impact than one running on a renewables- or nuclear-heavy one. How the growth of AI affects emissions depends not just on its energy efficiency and demand, but also on how clean the grids are that supply it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-block__callout col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Many thanks to Max Roser, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, and Edouard Mathieu for comments and feedback on this article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-block__recirc--center col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2 recirc recirc--center\">Continue reading on Our World in Data<\/div>\n<section class=\"footnote-container grid grid-cols-12-full-width col-start-1 col-end-limit\">\n<div class=\"col-start-4 span-cols-8 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 col-sm-start-2 span-sm-cols-12\">\n<h3 id=\"article-endnotes\">Endnotes<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"footnote-list\">\n<li id=\"note-1\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Epoch AI <a href=\"https:\/\/epoch.ai\/data-insights\/grok-4-training-resources\" class=\"span-link\">estimates that<\/a> training Grok 4 consumed around 0.31 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. As we\u2019ll see later, total demand for AI in 2025 was around 155 TWh. So, training Grok 4 \u2014 a fairly large model \u2014 was around 0.2% of the total.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-2\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">IEA (2026), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/key-questions-on-energy-and-ai\" class=\"span-link\">Key Questions on Energy and AI<\/a>, IEA, Paris.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-3\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Ember <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/explorers\/energy?tab=line&amp;country=~OWID_WRL&amp;Total+or+Breakdown=Total&amp;Energy+or+Electricity=Electricity+only&amp;Metric=Annual+generation\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">estimates that<\/a> in 2025, the world generated around 31,800 TWh of electricity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">485 TWh \/ 31,800 TWh * 100 = 1.5%.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-4\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">The IEA estimates that AI-focused data centers consumed 155 TWh in 2025. That\u2019s 0.49% of global electricity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Ember <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/explorers\/energy?tab=line&amp;country=~OWID_WRL&amp;Total+or+Breakdown=Total&amp;Energy+or+Electricity=Electricity+only&amp;Metric=Annual+generation\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">estimates that<\/a> in 2025, the world generated around 31,800 TWh of electricity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">155 TWh \/ 31,800 TWh * 100 = 0.49%.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-5\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Primary energy consumption in 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/explorers\/energy?tab=line&amp;Total+or+Breakdown=Total&amp;Energy+or+Electricity=Primary+energy&amp;Metric=Annual+consumption&amp;country=~OWID_WRL\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">was 177,000 TWh<\/a>. Electricity generation <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/explorers\/energy?tab=line&amp;Total+or+Breakdown=Total&amp;Energy+or+Electricity=Electricity+only&amp;Metric=Annual+generation&amp;country=~OWID_WRL\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">was 31,000 TWh<\/a>. [31,000 \/ 177,000 * 100 = 18%].<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-6\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">As the IEA puts it: \u201cnearly half of data center capacity in the United States is in five regional clusters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-7\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">You can find this in Figure 2.1 <a href=\"https:\/\/iea.blob.core.windows.net\/assets\/3179f7f8-01f6-4dd6-bffa-c9f7b73f1dc9\/KeyQuestionsonEnergyandAI.pdf\" class=\"span-link\">of the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-8\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">This data <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/grapher\/per-capita-electricity-generation?tab=line&amp;country=~OWID_EU27&amp;mapSelect=~OWID_EU27\" class=\"span-link span-linked-chart\">comes from<\/a> Ember Energy. The average per person in the EU is around 6,200 kWh <em>per year<\/em>, which is 17 kWh per day.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-9\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">Note that these figures are for total economy-wide electricity generation per person. That includes household electricity use, but also industrial and commercial consumption.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li id=\"note-10\" class=\"footnote-list__footnote\">\n<p class=\"article-block__text col-start-5 span-cols-6 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 span-sm-cols-12 col-sm-start-2\">The estimates for AI queries come <a href=\"https:\/\/epoch.ai\/gradient-updates\/how-much-energy-does-chatgpt-use\" class=\"span-link\">from Epoch AI<\/a>. The estimates for other activities are described at: <a href=\"https:\/\/hannahritchie.github.io\/energy-use-comparisons\" class=\"span-link\">https:\/\/hannahritchie.github.io\/energy-use-comparisons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"article-citation\" class=\"grid grid-cols-12-full-width col-start-1 col-end-limit no-dividers\">\n<div class=\"col-start-4 span-cols-8 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 col-sm-start-2 span-sm-cols-12\">\n<h3 class=\"align-center\">Cite this work<\/h3>\n<p>Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this article, please also cite the underlying data sources. This article can be cited as:<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wp-code-snippet wp-code-snippet--dark\">\n<pre class=\"wp-code-snippet__code\">Hannah Ritchie (2026) - \u201cHow much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?\u201d Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https:\/\/archive.ourworldindata.org\/20260720-065603\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use.html' [Online Resource] (archived on July 20, 2026).<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>BibTeX citation<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wp-code-snippet wp-code-snippet--dark\">\n<pre class=\"wp-code-snippet__code\">@articleowid-how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use,\n    author = Hannah Ritchie,\n    title = How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?,\n    journal = Our World in Data,\n    year = 2026,\n    note = https:\/\/archive.ourworldindata.org\/20260720-065603\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use.html\n<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"article-licence\" class=\"grid grid-cols-12-full-width col-start-1 col-end-limit\">\n<div class=\"col-start-4 span-cols-8 col-md-start-3 span-md-cols-10 col-sm-start-2 span-sm-cols-12\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/owid-logo.svg\" alt=\"Our World in Data logo\" width=\"104\" height=\"57\" \/>\n<h3>Reuse this work freely<\/h3>\n<p>All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons BY license<\/a>. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.<\/p>\n<p>The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.<\/p>\n<p>All of <a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/faqs#how-can-i-embed-one-of-your-interactive-charts-in-my-website\">our charts can be embedded<\/a> in any site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/how-much-energy-do-data-centers-and-artificial-intelligence-use\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"feedzy-rss-link-icon\">Lire la Suite<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HomeEnergy By Hannah Ritchie July 20, 2026 Cite this articleReuse our work freely Few \u2014 if any \u2014 technologies have been adopted as quickly as artificial intelligence (AI). Since that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[233,226],"class_list":["post-11889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donnees-etudes-evaluation-et-prospective","tag-ourworldindata","tag-sources-etrangeres"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veilles-affaires-sociales.fr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}