Data Centers Drive Rising Global Energy Demand

Northwestern University researchers published a Science/AAAS study in February 2020 modeling global data-center energy use, integrating equipment stocks, efficiency trends, and market structure. They find energy consumption has remained flat over the past decade due to efficiency gains but warn that continued demand—driven by AI, IoT and billions of devices processing over 2.5 exabytes daily—could outstrip efficiency, requiring new cooling, renewables, and policy measures.