Forecast Puts Global Data Center Power Demand Capacity at 161 GW in 2026
Редакция ЦОД:Главное
A new forecast projects global data center power demand capacity will reach 161 GW in 2026, up about 31% from 122.9 GW in 2025. The outlook attributes the increase to AI infrastructure and projects a widening gap between data center demand and grid capacity available to the sector by 2030.
- Global data center power demand capacity is forecast at 161 GW in 2026, about 31% above the 2025 level.
- AI servers are projected to represent roughly one-third of data center power demand capacity in 2026.
- The forecast indicates 490.7 GW of global data center demand capacity by 2030 versus 222.6 GW of grid capacity available to the sector.
- The implied 2030 difference of about 268 GW excludes behind-the-meter and other onsite generation.
- Grid interconnection and transmission delivery could become key constraints on AI-oriented data center expansion.
The forecast projects global data center power demand capacity of 161 GW in 2026, compared with 122.9 GW in 2025—an increase of about 31%. It identifies AI infrastructure as a central driver of growth.
AI servers are expected to account for approximately 33.4% of total data center power demand capacity in 2026, up from nearly 25% in 2025. Their share could exceed 40% in 2027, according to the source.
By 2030, global data center demand capacity could reach 490.7 GW, while grid capacity available to data centers is projected at 222.6 GW. That implies a difference of roughly 268 GW. In the United States, the source projects a data center power supply-demand gap of more than 170 GW by 2030.
The gap should not be read as a confirmed physical electricity shortfall. The available-grid-capacity estimate excludes behind-the-meter and other onsite generation, and the eventual scale of any constraint will depend on interconnection timelines, transmission construction and the development of local generation.
For operators, utilities and investors, the outlook indicates that access to deliverable grid capacity—and the speed at which it can be interconnected—could become more decisive for data center siting than land availability alone. The source also identifies HVDC as a potential route to improve power-distribution efficiency, but does not establish that HVDC, onsite generation or other measures would fully offset the projected demand-grid difference.
If realised, the forecast suggests grid-access timelines and transmission build-out could become primary constraints on new data center deployment, particularly for AI clusters. It could also increase the importance of onsite and behind-the-meter generation, although the source does not conclude that such measures will close the projected gap.
- — / 26 сентября 2026 г. · АнглийскийПервоисточник →
Материал подготовлен редакцией ЦОД: Главное на основе указанных первоисточников.