By 2030, data centers in the U.S. are projected to consume up to 9% of the country's total electricity generation, more than double their current consumption. This surge in power demand is driven by the rapid adoption of AI and the increasing use of data-intensive applications.
U.S. utilities will need to invest around $50 billion in power generation capacity to support upgraded and new AI-running data centers.
Evergy is delaying the retirement of its coal plant due to the increasing demand for electricity driven by AI. This surge in demand has led the company to rely on coal-fired plants to meet the energy needs of data centers and other facilities. The delay in coal plant retirement is also attributed to the utility's plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.