U.S. data center power use may nearly triple by 2028, report warns

A new report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, backed by the U.S. Department of Energy, predicts that data center power demand in the U.S. could nearly triple by 2028. This increase may account for up to 12% of the country's electricity consumption. Currently, data centers use just over 4% of U.S. power. The rise is driven by the growing use of artificial intelligence, which requires more powerful chips and cooling systems. In 2016, AI servers represented only 2% of total server energy use. The report suggests that annual or biannual updates are needed to track these trends. It also recommends improving data transparency in the industry to identify energy efficiency opportunities.