What AI Bubble? BNEF Outlook for Data Center Power Use Rises 36%
(Bloomberg) -- Power demand from US data centers is set to surge to 106 gigawatts by 2035, according to BloombergNEF, a 36% increase from the research provider’s previous outlook in April.
The upward revision in BNEF’s forecast is mainly driven by a wave of new early-stage data center projects. A gigawatt is roughly the output of a single nuclear reactor and can power around 750,000 US homes.
Massive electricity consumption from the data centers that run artificial intelligence has transformed the global energy landscape, but AI remains somewhat unproven as a profit-making business model. That uncertainty has traders worried about the investments being made to build and power data centers, sparking concern about an AI bubble.
BNEF’s most recent US Data Center Outlook said AI training and use are set to expand significantly as a share of data center capacity, reaching close to 40% by 2035 from roughly 12% now. AI training and use also drive higher rates of data center utilization, or how much capacity is being used.
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