According to a forecast from Goldman Sachs, artificial intelligence (AI) is set to dramatically reshape global energy consumption by 2030.
The bank predicts a 25% surge in electricity demand from data centers, with AI accounting for a staggering 20% of total worldwide energy use.
This shift echoes pivotal moments in human history. Fire once transformed life, sparking cooking, brain evolution, and social development. Later, electricity fueled the industrial era, driving economic growth and technological progress. Now, AI is emerging as the next transformative force. A single ChatGPT query, for instance, consumes approximately 2.9 watts - nearly 10 times more than a typical Google search.
If AI realizes even a fraction of its potential, energy could become the primary bottleneck to its expansion.
Goldman Sachs highlights that this energy crunch is sparking a new investment wave, extending beyond chips and AI models to the energy sector itself.
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Supporting this outlook, McKinsey estimates that U.S. data center energy consumption will rise from 3-4% to 11-12% by 2030, increasing from 25 gigawatts to 80 gigawatts. As AI’s appetite for power grows, the race to secure sustainable energy solutions will shape the future of technology and investment.
