How Much Data Center Demand?
February 03, 2025
On average, a ChatGPT query needs nearly 10 times as much electricity to process as a Google search. But how much will it cost in the future?
The projections for energy demand associated with AI are broad. The International Energy agency projects 3% of global capacity. The Electric Power Research Institute says 9% of US. capacity. The Department of Energy says 12% of US capacity by 2028. The unveiling of DeepSeek R1 and associated claims that its chatbot can slash AI computing consumption sent markets into a frenzy recently and raised questions about any projections.
In December, the US DOE published a report on the topic. While the recent DeepSeek announcement may have already made this report old news, it makes some points that stand the test of time.
“In the United States, demand for computation has increased as the economy has digitalized. Over the last decade, the rise of expanded computational services has been accompanied by increased demand for associated cloud computing infrastructure. The data center industry’s improving operational efficiency during this period initially held U.S. computing-related energy use flat while servicing greater demand. The expansion of data center services into areas that require new types of hardware, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency, is projected to break this trend, contributing to growth in American electricity consumption. The exact magnitude of this growth remains a subject of debate due to the heterogeneity of estimation methodologies.” (US Department of Energy)
For more:
https://www.newsweek.com/deepseek-ai-large-language-model-llm-efficiency-tech-energy-outlook-2023129
