Data Centers and Energy Usage 101: Impacts on the Electric Grid

As data center electricity usage projections continue to skyrocket, data centers are already propelling massive electric load growth in many states, testing regional grids and raising concerns for future energy planning. Bloomberg currently estimates that data centers’ power capacity could reach 194 gigawatts by 2035, an 83% increase from its projection last year.  State policymakers, regulators, and community advocates face several challenges in understanding and planning for this future demand. This Clean Energy Group (CEG) webinar is a primer for the data center industry and will provide important information on data center energy usage estimates.   

In this webinar, Alli Finn, Director of Community Partnerships at AI Now Institute, will provide an overview of the data center landscape underlying this load growth, including operational dynamics, incentive structures, and other key concepts. This will be followed by a presentation from Sarah Smith, a research scientist in Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Energy Analysis Division. Dr. Smith will present on factors impacting data center electricity usage modelling and considerations for policymakers, regulators, and local authorities when assessing data center load growth, as detailed in the US Data Center Energy Usage Report 2025 Update. The two presentations will be followed by questions and discussion from the audience. CEG Project Director Abbe Ramanan will moderate.