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AI Boom Drives Massive Power Demand in Data Centers, Challenging Decarbonization
Feb 20, 2025
The 2025 Global Data Center Outlook by JLL highlights the soaring energy demand from AI and data centers, putting decarbonization goals at risk. The data center market is set to expand at a 15?GR through 2027, with a potential 20?GR if demand surges further.
Key Findings:
- AI-driven Growth: AI's expansion will increase infrastructure demand, with NVIDIA's latest AI chips consuming 300% more power than previous models.
- Doubling Energy Needs: Global data center power demand is expected to double in five years, necessitating urgent clean energy solutions.
- Rise of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): More than 100 sites worldwide are being evaluated for SMR installations, with gigawatt-scale announcements expected to double in 2025.
- Cooling Innovations: Liquid and immersion cooling will become essential as GPU power density surpasses 150 kW per rack.
- Massive Investment Needs: $170 billion in assets will require development or permanent financing, with 10 GW of new projects starting and 7 GW reaching completion in 2025.
The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure presents both opportunities and challenges, requiring urgent shifts to clean energy and efficient cooling technologies to align with global net-zero goals.