Data center power demands have delayed the retirement of coal plants

AI is estimated to drive most data center power demand growth through 2030

According to a report from the International Energy Agency, a typical AI data center in 2025 consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, but the largest under construction are expected to consume 20 times as much. Global data center electricity consumption is expected to surpass Japan's total consumption by 2030.

By 2028, data center power consumption may equal 22% of US households

Date from 2023 suggests that data centers accounted for around 4.4% of US electricity consumption, with new facilities supporting the AI boom consuming more power than the state of New Hampshire annually. However, the energy impact of individual use varies widely depending on the prompt and AI model. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Cryptocurrency and data center growth are expected to increase greenhouse gas emissions

An analysis from the Open Energy Outlook Initiative estimates a 30% increase in emissions through 2030, as growing energy demands in regions where data centers are being built (20%-30%) far exceed the traditional growth rate of utilities in those areas (1%-2%). The emissions spike is expected to equal France's annual carbon output.

Explore how the grid is being rebuilt for AI, which is expected to double global electricity demand by 2050

Fracking rates may increase with the construction of new data centers

In Pennsylvania, plans to build at least five new facilities supported by gas-fired power plants are expected to escalate public health risks through surges in air and water pollution. Data center water demands are expected to further strain local resources.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

AI's growing energy demands are driving tech companies to consider nuclear power

Big Tech has rebranded nuclear power as a green solution to address the strain on the grid from millions of people using power-hungry AI tools. As of mid-2025, generating one image uses as much electricity as charging the average smartphone, or leaving a household light bulb on for 87 consecutive days.

From 2014-25, US private sector data center investments have increased more than 25-fold

The annualized rate of US data center construction has ballooned from $1.6B to $41.1B, creating a market for data centers whose infrastructure costs and land, power, and transmission capacity demands rival those of offices and industrial facilities.

Most data centers rely on the local power grid to feed power-hungry computer equipment

These facilities house rows of vertical racks containing multiple types of hardware, including servers that provide 24/7 access to online applications, services, and data. In a hyperscale center with thousands of these racks, the annual electricity used is estimated to equal that of 400,000 electric vehicles.

Research suggests AI data centers may be creating microclimate heat islands

An analysis of satellite data from 2004 to 2024 showed that land surface temperatures in the areas surrounding AI data centers typically increase by an average of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) after they begin running. Across the 6,000 global data centers analyzed by the study, temperatures increased by as much as 9.1 degrees Celsius (16.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

AI data center growth has created shortages and price hikes in computer parts

The parallel processing needed to power large language models for AI chatbots and other tools drove demand for high-speed graphics processing units to spike in 2025, enabling capital-rich technology companies to price out consumers. Similar demands for the computer memory used in storage drives are expected to keep shortages from easing through 2028.

Carbon-neutral data centers may be possible if built within wind turbines

Wind turbine towers are typically hollow, housing only cables and a ladder for maintenance access. The excess electricity a wind turbine collects could power a stack of server racks more than 100 meters (328 feet) high within its tower.

Data centers' electrical needs create increased water demands beyond cooling

Each query uses approximately one single-serving water bottle per conversation, but water is also used for steam cycles and cooling in power plants that generate electricity for data centers. Newer cooling methods, such as immersion cooling, where servers are submerged in fluids that don't conduct electricity, can minimize water use.

Most of the critical mineral supply needed for US data centers is imported

The country with the most data centers relies on other nations for about 80% of the rare earth elements needed for magnetic materials in storage drives, 64% of the silver and 85% of the platinum it uses for electrical circuitry, and about half the aluminum and copper used in heat sinks that dissipate thermal energy from electronic components.

During emergencies, backup diesel generators in data centers emit substantial pollution

During power outages or when the power grid is at insufficient capacity, these generators emit 200 to 600 times more nitrogen oxides—a greenhouse gas—than natural gas plants, as well as fine particulate matter linked to respiratory disease.

Modular data centers can be transported on a truck for rapid deployment

Bypassing the complications involved in building larger facilities over the course of several years, such as construction costs and permits, these pre-fabricated, self-contained pods, roughly the size of shipping containers, can carry thousands of graphics processing units for small- and medium-scale AI-related tasks.

A breakdown of global electricity generation in 2025, led by coal power plants

Fossil fuel plants generated 57% of global electricity, with the remaining power produced by clean energy sources, led by hydroelectric power at 14.0%. Roughly equal amounts of generation were provided by nuclear (8.9%), solar (8.7%), and wind (8.5%) power.

Nuclear power supplies almost half of US carbon-free energy

As of 2023, nearly 20% of US electricity comes from nuclear power, but most reactors were built from 1971 to 1990. Expansion slowed due to safety concerns, high costs, and competition from natural gas.

View data center electrical demand and fiber optic cable connections across the US

Data center hub construction has prioritized locations with affordable electricity and fiber internet for data transmission, including Loudoun and Prince William Counties in Virginia and Maricopa County in Arizona. As of 2025, Northern Virginia's robust data center infrastructure is estimated to handle about 70% of global internet traffic.

Watch a time-lapse of the construction of a data center

After the external structure of a data center is built, cooling systems are installed, followed by interior offices and other rooms. Before installing racks of servers and other equipment, floors are raised beneath where they will be installed to create space for cold fluid to be pumped into the hardware and to facilitate cable management.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Geothermal power may meet 15% of global electricity demand growth through 2050

According to the International Energy Agency, the estimate would require the construction of geothermal capacity with an annual output equivalent to the combined electricity consumption in the US and India in 2024. The report suggests geothermal investment will reach $2.5T by 2050, with the integration of fracking technologies decreasing costs by 80% by 2035.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

As of 2024, 13 states have plans to phase out gas-powered cars

In 2022, California adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II Act, which requires all new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold to produce zero emissions by 2035. Other states adopted similar laws, joining more than 50 countries with phaseout plans.

Clouds' subtle climate effects require significant computational power to simulate

Responsible for reflecting sunlight and preventing thermal energy from entering the Earth system while also trapping energy and keeping it in the system, clouds are understood to substantially influence climate predictions. Because even supercomputers struggle to accurately model their dynamic behavior, researchers have used AI to indirectly incorporate clouds into climate models.

Visual Capitalist projects the fastest-shrinking jobs in America by 2034

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be fewer jobs for cashiers, bank tellers, data entry clerks, and more over the next decade.

The surprising world of coal seam fires

Hundreds of coal seam fires are actively smoldering around the world at any given time, including some that have stayed lit for centuries. These fires have occurred naturally for millions of years, lit atop deposits of coal in the earth. Dive into...

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

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Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

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Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

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