The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is driving a sharp increase in global data centre energy demand, with electricity consumption expected to rise 26% year-over-year in 2026, according to new research from Gartner.
The analyst firm forecasts worldwide data centre electricity consumption will reach 565 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2026, up from 447 TWh in 2025, as organisations continue investing in AI infrastructure and compute-intensive workloads.
According to Gartner, growing demand for AI processing is fundamentally reshaping the economics of data centre operations, with power availability emerging as a critical factor in future AI deployment strategies.
“Surging demand for compute-intensive AI workloads is driving unprecedented data center power growth, while AI capacity is now constrained by power availability, making data center power security the new battle ground for scaling and protecting margins in the global AI race,” said Linglan Wang, Director Analyst at Gartner.
The report also projects worldwide data centre power demand will increase from 104 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 to 132 GW in 2026, representing annual growth of 27%. By 2030, demand is expected to reach 290 GW, highlighting the scale of infrastructure expansion required to support the next generation of AI applications.
A key driver behind the trend is the rapid adoption of AI-optimised servers. Gartner estimates these systems will account for 31% of total data centre power consumption in 2026. By 2027, electricity consumption from AI-optimised servers is expected to surpass that of conventional server infrastructure.
The analyst firm forecasts power consumption from AI-optimised servers will increase from 95 TWh in 2025 to 175 TWh in 2026, before reaching 258 TWh in 2027. In comparison, conventional servers are projected to consume 195 TWh in 2026 and 200 TWh in 2027.
Cooling systems and supporting infrastructure are also expected to consume significantly more energy as AI workloads intensify. Gartner estimates electricity consumption from cooling and related infrastructure will reach 195 TWh in 2026, rising to 243 TWh in 2027.
The findings underscore growing concerns around energy availability as AI adoption accelerates globally. Gartner estimates total data centre electricity consumption could exceed 1,200 TWh by 2030, creating pressure on existing power grids and potentially affecting future data centre construction projects.
“Infrastructure and operations leaders must prioritize efficiency upgrades and secure grid access. They also need to invest in high-efficiency cooling systems and edge computing to mitigate power constraints and ensure sustainable, scalable growth,” Wang said.
The forecast highlights a growing challenge for enterprises, cloud providers, and governments alike as AI increasingly becomes a core business capability. While organisations continue to invest heavily in generative AI and agentic AI initiatives, access to reliable and scalable power infrastructure is emerging as one of the industry's most significant constraints.
