AI Power Consumption: Data Centers Overwhelm Power Grids in USA and Switzerland

Summary

Global electricity consumption by data centers is growing rapidly due to the AI revolution. In the USA, this is becoming a critical problem as the power grid is already overburdened and data center demand will account for about half of electricity growth by 2030. Switzerland has a disproportionately high energy consumption for servers compared to Europe, but current analyses on future development are lacking. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that global electricity demand will double by 2030.

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Detailed Summary

Global Perspective: Massive Investments and Electricity Growth

The AI revolution is driving massive investments in data centers. In 2025, 580 billion dollars were invested worldwide in data center expansion, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon will continue their spending in 2026. According to the IEA, global electricity demand from these facilities will double by 2030. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicts that the additional energy demand by 2028 will be nearly equivalent to Canada's annual electricity consumption.

Parallel to AI development, general digitalization continues: cloud migration, electric mobility, and air conditioning are additional major electricity consumers. This further intensifies pressure on global electricity supply.

The USA: A Power Grid on the Brink of Overload

The USA is particularly hard hit by the data center explosion. The IEA expects that by 2030, about half of electricity growth in the USA will be caused by data centers. The American power grid is already heavily strained, particularly on the East Coast, where data centers are clustering. New grid connections can take several years there.

Operators are therefore increasingly building their own power plants – preferably with natural gas, partly with coal. Electricity consumption by data centers is expected to double from 5 percent of total demand (2023) to 10 percent (2030), according to rating agency Morningstar. The «Financial Times» concludes that power plant expansion will not keep pace with data center expansion. Under the Trump administration, renewable energies are being promoted less, although solar and wind would offer great potential.

Europe and Switzerland: Slower Growth, but Higher Baseload

In Europe, data center density is growing more slowly than in the USA. Morningstar expects an increase in electricity share from 2.4 to 5 percent by 2030, with about a third attributable to AI applications.

Switzerland presents a special picture: In the last survey by the Federal Office of Energy (BfE) in 2019, data centers already required 3.6 percent of total Swiss electricity consumption – significantly above the European average of 2.4 percent. Since 2019, digitalization has advanced further without current analyses being available.

The Swiss Telecommunication Association (Asut) emphasizes that energy-intensive training of AI language models takes place, with few exceptions, not in Switzerland but in the USA and China. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how much additional energy data centers will require in the future.

Missing Analyses and Planning

Hannes Weigt, Professor of Energy Economics at the University of Basel, classifies data centers as one component of future electricity demand – alongside heat pumps and electric mobility. Precise predictions are difficult, but for Weigt it is clear: «Planning for the Swiss electricity system must assume that demand will grow.»

The Federal Office of Energy is working on a comprehensive study on data centers, which should be available in the first half of 2026 – the first current analysis since 2019.

Action Requirements

The Association of Swiss Electricity Suppliers (VSE) warns that not only consumption and production, but also the burden on electricity grids must be considered. The VSE demands:

• Accelerated grid expansion
• Massive increase in renewable energies
• Expansion of electricity storage
• An electricity agreement with the EU

These measures are necessary to ensure long-term electricity supply security.

Key Messages

• Global electricity consumption by data centers will double by 2030; the AI revolution is a main driver of this development
• In the USA, electricity consumption by data centers will rise from 5 to 10 percent by 2030 and overload the power grid
• Switzerland already consumes 3.6 percent of its electricity for data centers – above the European average – but current analyses on future development are lacking
• Electricity infrastructure expansion in the USA is not keeping pace with data center growth; operators are increasingly building their own power plants
• Switzerland needs accelerated grid expansion, massive investments in renewable energies, and an EU electricity agreement
• Precise forecasts of energy demand are difficult, but planning must assume continued demand growth

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