Global data center electricity consumption is on track to grow 26% in 2026, driven almost entirely by the explosive expansion of AI-optimized server infrastructure, and by 2027, AI servers alone will draw more power than every conventional server in the world combined, according to a new forecast from Gartner.
The research firm projects that worldwide data center electricity consumption will reach 565 terawatt-hours in 2026, up from 447 TWh in 2025. AI-optimized servers will account for 31% of that total, 175 TWh, representing an 84% increase from 95 TWh the previous year.
By 2027, AI servers are expected to consume 258 TWh, surpassing conventional servers (200 TWh) for the first time. Conventional server power consumption has been essentially flat, growing just 1.2% in 2026, while AI server consumption has climbed at an annual rate of 84%.
“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 battleground for scaling and protecting margins in the global AI race,” said Linglan Wang, director analyst at Gartner.
The cooling problem
The heat generated by AI chips is compounding the energy challenge. Cooling systems and supporting infrastructure consumed 159 TWh in 2025 and are forecast to reach 195 TWh in 2026 and 243 TWh by 2027, a 53% increase over two years. The combination of higher-density AI racks and the need for liquid or immersion cooling is driving this segment’s growth faster than conventional infrastructure upgrades.
Total data center electricity consumption is forecast to reach 702 TWh in 2027 and could exceed 1,200 TWh by 2030. Gartner warns that grid supply will become insufficient to meet the demands of future data center construction, making power availability the single most important constraint on AI expansion.
Worldwide data center power demand, the peak capacity required at any moment, is expected to rise from 104 gigawatts in 2025 to 132 GW in 2026, and could reach 290 GW by 2030.
Gartner advises infrastructure leaders to prioritize energy efficiency, secure long-term grid access, deploy high-efficiency cooling technologies such as liquid cooling, and invest in edge computing architectures to reduce power constraints while supporting sustainable growth.
Sources: Gartner Says Data Center Electricity Consumption to Grow 26% in 2026 (Gartner, Jun 10, 2026); AI servers will consume more power than all conventional data center hardware by 2027 (Tom’s Hardware, Jul 2026)