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AI to drive electricity demand, but could also slash emissions
Electricity requirements from data centres are set to more than double by 2030 as artificial intelligence (AI) adoption soars worldwide, reaching the equivalent of Japan’s entire power consumption today.
That is according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which forecasts that data centres will account for almost half of the growth in electricity demand in the US this decade. Indeed, the US economy will consume more electricity in 2030 for processing data than for manufacturing all energy-intensive goods combined, including aluminium, steel, cement and chemicals.
In advanced economies more broadly, data centres are projected to drive more than 20% of the growth in electricity demand over the next five years.
While the increase will push up emissions, the report claims that the rise will be “small in the context of the overall energy sector”, and could be offset by emissions reductions enabled by AI adoption in other sectors. Also, as AI becomes increasingly integral to scientific discovery, it could accelerate innovation in energy technologies such as batteries and solar PV.
To benefit from AI, the report states that countries must quickly accelerate new investments in electricity generation and grids, improve the efficiency and flexibility of data centres, and strengthen the dialogue between policymakers, the tech sector and the energy industry.
“With the rise of AI, the energy sector is at the forefront of one of the most important technological revolutions of our time,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “AI is a tool, potentially an incredibly powerful one, but it is up to us – our societies, governments and companies – how we use it.”
AI expertise for climate action ‘limited’
Broad awareness and expertise in the use of AI to facilitate climate action is still “severely limited”, according to a white paper from Google.
The report highlights how generative AI could add €1.2trn to Europe’s economy within 10 years – for example, by increasing efficiency and reducing energy usage in large buildings by 20-40%.
However, of the potential GDP gains, €500bn depends on reskilling and upskilling workers, with the EU currently lacking talent that combines digital and climate expertise.
Without professionals skilled in both areas, economies are likely to struggle to harness the potential of technological solutions like smart grids, predictive maintenance and carbon monitoring tools.
The paper calls for a ‘European Academy for Skills for the Clean Economy’, where sustainability and digital experts offer training for high-demand skills in sectors such as energy, agriculture and transportation.
It adds: “The path forward is clear: better data access, infrastructure, skills development and responsible AI deployment can help maximise the technology’s benefits for Europe.”
Eco impacts of data-centre cooling
A first-of-its-kind lifecycle assessment by Microsoft has quantified the carbon, water and energy impacts of four data-centre cooling techniques.
It found that switching from air cooling to cold plates – which cool data-centre chips directly – could reduce emissions and energy demand by roughly 15% and cut water consumption by 30-50% throughout lifespans.
The study also quantified possible energy, water and emissions savings by switching to 100% renewable energy sources, finding that emissions could be reduced by 85-90%, regardless of the cooling technology used.
This level of detail is rare and difficult to uncover, taking the researchers more than two years to complete. They have made the methodology available to others in the industry through an open research repository.
Husam Alissa, leader of the study, said: “We’re advocating in this paper for the use of lifecycle assessment tools to guide engineering decisions early on and also sharing the tool with the industry to make adoption easier.”
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of IEMA’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for IEMA members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
