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AI data centers are devouring America's electric grid. It's all based on guesswork

The race to build artificial general intelligence has turned electricity into the most contested resource in tech

A data center campus in Washington state. Spending on data-center construction in the U.S. eclipsed $50 billion in April for the first time, according to Census Bureau figures. (David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The data centers powering artificial intelligence are eating the electric grid. Energy consumption by these facilities jumped 80% from 2020 to 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta poured over $200 billion into AI infrastructure in 2024 alone, a 62% increase year over year.

It's the fastest infrastructure buildout the power sector has seen in decades. Tech CEOs are reviving shuttered nuclear plants, installing gas turbines on farm land, signing deals that lock in electricity for years. The race to build artificial general intelligence has turned electricity into the most contested resource........

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