AI services run on physical equipment. The computers that train and operate models need electricity, cooling and a dependable network connection.
A 2024 U.S. Department of Energy report estimated that data centers used about 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and projected a range of 6.7% to 12% by 2028. Those figures are estimates and projections, not measured future outcomes.
The discussion involves several questions at once: how to provide reliable power, how to control costs, whether efficiency improvements can reduce demand, and how new generation and storage could support growth.
There are genuine tradeoffs. Supporters emphasize innovation and economic activity; critics raise concerns about infrastructure costs and environmental effects. Understanding the numbers and their uncertainty is more useful than reducing the issue to a slogan.
This article is a source-linked explainer, not a claim of firsthand interviews or exclusive reporting.
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