Creating Benefits for Customers and System Operators
David Porter is EPRI Vice President of Electrification and Sustainable Energy Solutions.
AI’s surge is no longer a future scenario; it’s already reshaping the U.S. power system. EPRI’s updated “Powering Intelligence” study shows just how consequential that shift could be. Data centers, particularly AI-focused facilities, are emerging as the largest driver of electricity demand growth in decades. By 2030, data centers could account for nine percent to 17 percent of total U.S. electricity demand, more than double today’s share.
After 2030, this dynamic is expected to shift, driven by expanding electrification across multiple sectors. By the mid-2030s to 2040, electric vehicle (EV) load is expected to surpass data center demand in most planning scenarios.
In a medium-growth projection, demand from EVs is projected to exceed data center load by 2036. Even in a high data center growth case, EV load surpasses it by 2041, reaching around 1,800 terawatt hours by 2050 compared to roughly 900 terawatt hours for data centers.
EVs represent a longer-term transformation, but despite their differences, both data centers and EVs share important similarities. Each represents a rapidly growing and uncertain source of load, driven by evolving technology and market dynamics.