“Data center server electricity use grows to 22%–33% of commercial building electricity use by 2050 across our cases — servers alone accounted for an estimated 7% of commercial sector electricity consumption in 2025, and by 2050 server consumption alone reaches between 446 billion kilowatthours and 818 billion kilowatthours.”
Statistical and analytical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy; Annual Energy Outlook 2026
Said Apr 8, 2026Deadline Dec 31, 2050EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2026 (released April 8, 2026), detailed in EIA Today in Energy, May 19, 2026
AEO2026's High Electricity Demand case assumes the installed stock of AI servers grows exponentially through 2050; resolution depends on EIA's own commercial-sector accounting decades out.