Market history · Infrastructure ·
The IEA sizes the power demand from artificial intelligence
In April 2025 the International Energy Agency published Energy and AI, a detailed look at how artificial intelligence affects power demand. It estimated that electricity use by data centres worldwide would more than double by 2030, to around 945 terawatt-hours, driven mainly by AI-focused facilities.
For owners of power generation, grids and the supply chains behind them, the report put numbers on a theme that had been building through 2024: data centres were becoming a major new source of demand for electricity, and the timing of new capacity, grid connections and equipment would shape where and how fast they could be built.
The IEA also described how AI could help the energy sector itself, for example by improving the running of grids.
The takeaway
Long-lived assets such as power and grid infrastructure are priced on expected demand decades ahead, so forecasts matter and so do their errors.
Sources
This is a retrospective about a past event, provided for general information. It is not investment advice, does not describe RockLake's positioning at the time, and past performance is not a guide to future performance. Read the risk warning.