The Blubber

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence-driven data centers is set to boost demand for gas- and coal-fired power plants, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA forecasts that electricity consumption from data centers will double by 2030. Although renewable energy capacity is expected to expand—particularly across Europe—the agency warns that the variable output from wind and solar will not be enough to meet the steady, around-the-clock power needs of data centers. Baseload sources like natural gas will more reliably align with these demand patterns, the IEA noted.

Some of the largest data centers currently planned could consume as much power as five million homes, posing major challenges for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The United States leads the world in data center electricity demand, the IEA said, with gas-fired plants supplying about 40% of the sector’s needs. This reliance on gas is expected to continue as capacity expands through 2030.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed a package of measures that he claimed would ramp up coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation in the U.S., part of a broader push to fuel the booming AI-driven data center sector and revive the struggling domestic fossil fuel industry.

In China, the world’s second-largest data center market, coal—the dirtiest fossil fuel—already dominates the sector’s power mix, according to the IEA.

Looking further ahead, the IEA says there remains significant uncertainty about data center power demand by 2035, projecting a wide range between 700 and 1700 terawatt-hours. This vast range also means a broad variation in future demand for both natural gas and nuclear power.