Latest news with #electricityConsumption
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Data Centers Prompt US to Boost Power-Usage Forecast by 92%
US data centers are rapidly driving up demand for power, with the official forecast for electricity consumption next year almost doubling in the past month. Total power usage in the US is expected to climb 2.15% in 2026, spurred largely by a 5% spike from commercial users because of the expansion of data centers, according to a US Energy Department report released on Tuesday. That's up sharply from a month ago, when the agency expected commercial demand to rise by 2% and total consumption to gain by 1.12%.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Data center demand to push US power use to record highs in 2025, '26, EIA says
June 10 (Reuters) - Power-hungry data centers that provide computing power for artificial intelligence and crypto currency will push U.S. electricity consumption to record highs in 2025 and 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday. The EIA projected power demand will rise to 4,193 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2025 and 4,283 billion kWh in 2026 from a record 4,097 billion kWh in 2024. In addition to data centers, American homes and businesses are expected to use more electricity for heat and transportation. The EIA forecast 2025 power sales will rise to 1,517 billion kWh for residential consumers, 1,474 billion kWh for commercial customers and 1,055 billion kWh for industrial customers. Those forecasts compare to all-time highs of 1,509 billion kWh for residential consumers in 2022, 1,434 billion kWh in 2024 for commercial customers and 1,064 billion kWh in 2000 for industrial customers. The EIA said natural gas' share of power generation would slide from 42% in 2024 to 40% in 2025 and 2026. Coal's share will hold at 16% in 2025, the same as 2024, before easing to 15% in 2026, as renewable output rises. The percentage of renewable generation will rise from 23% in 2024 to 25% in 2025 and 27% in 2026, while nuclear power's share will hold at 19% in 2025, the same as 2024, before easing to 18% in 2026, according to the outlook. EIA projected gas sales in 2025 would rise to 13.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) for residential consumers, 9.7 bcfd for commercial customers and 23.5 bcfd for industrial customers, but fall to 35.9 bcfd for power generation. That compares with all-time highs of 14.3 bcfd in 1996 for residential consumers, 9.6 bcfd in 2019 for commercial customers, 23.8 bcfd in 1973 for industrial customers and 36.9 bcfd in 2024 for power generation.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
India Plans Air-Conditioning Temperature Standards to Save Power
India is working with appliance makers to standardize the cooling range of air conditioners to ensure that the minimum temperature is not set below 20C (68F), in an effort to cut the energy use of these power guzzlers. The plan, although at an initial stage, reflects the government's focus to boost energy efficiency as electricity consumption soars. In recent years, demand has outpaced generation capacity, leaving parts of the country without power during sweltering summer months of April through June. Currently, thermostats on some of these devices can be adjusted to as low as 16C.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Data centres accounted for more than fifth of Ireland's electricity usage last year
Data centres accounted for more than one-fifth (22 per cent) of Irish electricity usage in 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has found. The percentage share of metered electricity consumption used by data centres has more than quadrupled since 2015, when figures were recorded at 5 per cent. Total metered electricity consumption was 31,900 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2024, up by 4.3 per cent compared with 2023 and by 30 per cent since 2015, according to a separate CSO release. Of this figure, urban households accounted for 18 per cent and rural households for 10 per cent. Metered electricity consumption by data centres increased by 10 per cent from 6,335 GWh in 2023 to 6,969 GWh in 2024. Consumption by all other users, including residential and other business customers, increased by 3 per cent over the same period. READ MORE Quarterly metered electricity consumption by data centres rose steadily from 290 GWh in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,829 GWh in the fourth quarter of 2024 – an increase of 531 per cent. Large energy users, a category that typically includes major data centres, made up the largest share at 31 per cent of total metered electricity consumption in 2024. Their consumption reached 9,897 GWh in 2024, a 9 per cent increase from the previous year. Former minister for the environment, climate and energy Eamon Ryan last year defended his role in making Ireland 'the world's leading centre of data centres', expressing confidence they could be operated in a low-carbon manner. 'Ireland is the world's leading centre of data centres, bar none. Silver-medal place probably goes to the [US] state of Virginia, just south of Washington. There's no one else even in the bronze-medal place. We've a factor of 10 higher concentration of data centres than our European colleagues – and that brings real benefits and strength to the country,' Mr Ryan said. A study by University College Cork energy analyst Prof Hannah Daly found that unchecked growth in Irish data centres fuelled by an AI boom is undermining Ireland's ability to meet critical 2030 climate targets. According to the latest CSO figures, median residential electricity consumption rose by 2.3 per cent in 2024 compared with 2023, with all counties showing an increase. A breakdown of residential energy consumption revealed Kildare had the highest median figure, at 3,845 kilowatt hours (kWh), while Donegal had the lowest, at 2,650 kWh. Geographically, Dublin postal districts had the highest proportion of residential consumption in 2024 at 19 per cent. This was followed by Cork (12 per cent), Dublin County (6 per cent), Galway (6 per cent), and Kildare (5 per cent). The number of residential meters saw a 10 per cent increase between 2015 and 2024, the highest of these increases were in counties adjacent to Dublin city with residential meters in Kildare and Meath both up by 19 per cent. There were 1.9 million residential customers with smart meters by the end of 2024, which accounts for 83 per cent of all residential meters. Approximately 10 per cent of residential customers consumed less than 1,000 kWh in 2024, significantly below the median consumption of 3,246 kWh. Low consumption levels can indirectly indicate factors such as vacant properties, holiday homes, or energy poverty, and are also influenced by dwelling size and energy efficiency, the CSO said. Its report also found metered electricity consumption by stand-alone electric vehicle charge points rose by 43 per cent from 23 GWh in 2023 to 33 GWh in 2024.
