Do You Have Power?

Where does the AI-driven power surge in data centres leave sustainability goals? On the fence.

- Raju Chellam

Here’s a geeky futuristic story for the new year: By 2028, AI has become pervasive, and robots have gotten cheaper and smarter. John, a struggling comedian, invests in a robot that can do everything— cooking, washing, cleaning, and taking care of him. John often takes the robot along to his gigs. The robot pulls jokes from the cloud and rehashes old jokes by using AI to tweak them to John’s style.

One night when John comes home, he finds his robot missing. After a tiring search, he finds the robot performing stand-up comedy at a nightclub. The “idiot” robot is hamming away with lousy puns and awkward pauses, but the audience is in stitches.

The delighted club owner offers John a fat sum of money to let the robot perform every night. John grabs the opportunity. The result? John is now doing everything—cooking, washing, cleaning, and taking care of the “idiot” robot.

If that anecdote made you wink, these estimates should make you blink: Electricity consumption in data centres (DCs) is projected to reach 857 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2028, more than double the 2023 levels, according to IDC Corp. The increasing demand for AI workloads is set to significantly boost DC capacity, energy consumption, and carbon emissions.

THE AI IMPETUS

A massive impetus comes from AI, especially GenAI workloads which now account for an increasingly larger share of total DC power usage. This trend is set to fuel energy consumption in DCs at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 44.7% from now to 2027, surpassing 146 TWh by then.

The problem? Electricity prices are rising in tandem due to several factors, including supply and demand dynamics, environmental regulations, geopolitical events, and climate change-induced extreme weather. The rising demand for power and escalating energy costs will make DCs significantly more expensive to operate, though the exact impact remains uncertain.