Microsoft · Google · The Guardian Technology
Datacentres tapping 6% of electricity supply in UK and US, research confirms
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Datacentres are consuming 6% of electricity in the UK and US, with the growing strain of AI on energy supplies prompting community resistance, according to research.
Key facts
- In early 2025, the UK government estimated UK datacentres used 2.5% of electricity, but predicted this would increase fourfold by 2030
- The IDCA’s figures align with recent estimates by the International Energy Agency that energy use rose 17% in 2025, outpacing growth in global electricity demand of 3%
- The UK, where 5.9% of electricity is used by datacentres, and the US, where the figure is 6%, are well above the global average of 2%
- There are now estimated to be about 10,000 datacentres worldwide, the largest of which include Microsoft’s new 1.2m sq ft (about 111,500 sq metre) Mount Pleasant datacentre in Wisconsin, which it
Summary
The proportion of electricity used by vast warehouses stacked with microchips to power AI and the internet has risen 15% worldwide in the past two years as annual global investment in datacentres approaches $1tn (£740bn), nearly 1% of the global economy, according to the International Data Center Authority (IDCA). The figures come amid energy shortages in the UK and datacentre developers reporting waits of several years for national grid connections. The Guardian this week reported that developers working for Google significantly misstated how much carbon two proposed AI datacentres would contribute to the UK’s total emissions. “Significant community and political pushback starts to occur in nations once their datacentre footprints have reached the 5% consumption level of national grids,” the IDCA research concludes.