GlobalData Forecasts Data Center Power Tripling by 2030
GlobalData projects global data center power consumption will triple by 2030, a 21.1% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2030, driven by cloud and hybrid adoption, surging data traffic, and AI high-density GPU workloads. The forecast comes from GlobalData's "Powering Data Centers Market Report" and was distributed through InvestorIdeas, a newswire that discloses it is compensated for news distribution. GlobalData reports the US and China led global power consumption in 2024 at 38% and 24.2% respectively, with China projected to surpass the US by 2030. On a separate installed-capacity basis, analyst Rehaan Shiledar projects China rising from 27% to 35% and the US declining from 42% to 34% by 2030. The headline tripling is more aggressive than independent forecasts from the IEA, Gartner, and S&P Global, which project data center power demand roughly doubling by 2030.
What GlobalData projects
GlobalData forecasts that global data center power consumption will triple by 2030, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.1% from 2024 to 2030. The projection comes from its report "Powering Data Centers Market Report: Power Consumption, Capacity, PUE and Project Pipeline Analysis and Country Ranking Forecast to 2030" and was distributed through InvestorIdeas, a newswire that discloses it is compensated for news distribution. GlobalData attributes the growth to cloud and hybrid adoption, surging data traffic, demand for secure and resilient environments, and AI high-density GPU workloads expanding hyperscale and colocation builds.
Country shares (two different metrics)
GlobalData reports the US and China were the largest markets in 2024, accounting for 38% and 24.2% of global data center power consumption respectively, with China projected to surpass the US by 2030 (the release states China reaches about 30.1% and rises further to 33.6%). Separately, on an installed-capacity basis, GlobalData analyst Rehaan Shiledar is quoted: "China is expected to lead this growth engine, scaling from 27% in 2024 to 35% by 2030. While the US is projected to remain the second-largest market, currently at 42%, its share is expected to decline to 34% by 2030." Shiledar adds that China and the US together would still account for about 69% of installed capacity in 2030. The power-consumption and installed-capacity percentages are different measures and should not be read as a single set of figures.
Pipeline and policy detail
GlobalData estimates the US development pipeline at 78.2% hyperscale and 21.5% colocation, with the hyperscale segment anchored by Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud plus Meta; the UK pipeline skews toward colocation (about 61.2%) over hyperscale (about 38.8%). The report cites policy drivers including a US executive order accelerating federal data center permitting (July 2025), China's 2022 strategy to build data centers in western regions, and Indian tax incentives.
Editorial analysis - how it compares
Editorial analysis: GlobalData's tripling forecast sits at the high end of published estimates. The IEA projects global data center electricity use roughly doubling from about 415 TWh in 2024 to 945 TWh by 2030, and Gartner and S&P Global similarly project a roughly twofold increase. Industry-pattern observation: single-vendor market forecasts distributed via paid newswires warrant triangulation against independent analysis before being used for capacity, procurement, or grid-planning decisions.
Scoring Rationale
A recognized research firm's forecast that data center power demand triples by 2030 is a relevant macro signal for AI infrastructure planning, but the story rests on a single GlobalData report distributed via a compensated newswire and sits above independent IEA, Gartner, and S&P estimates of roughly doubling. Solid and useful for capacity planners rather than a model or algorithm milestone, so adjusted down from 7.1 to 6.2.
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