Data Centers Increased Share of U.S. Electricity Use from 2018 to 2023

S. 4% in 2023. The same study modeled several energy-use scenarios and projected that national average wholesale electricity costs could rise between 6% and 29% by the end of the decade. In Virginia, one of the states with the largest data-center concentrations, generation costs could increase as much as 57%.

Grid power supplied to data centers rose 22% in 2025, according to S&P Global research cited in the study. The modeling showed that utilities are expected to meet most of the added demand with natural gas, while coal, wind, and solar would supply smaller shares depending on federal policy.

Without incentives comparable to those previously available under the Inflation Reduction Act, natural gas would provide roughly 70% of incremental generation. Restoring those incentives would lower natural gas’s share to about 41%, with wind supplying 29% and solar 15%.

The study also projected that data-center expansion could raise CO2 emissions from electricity generation by as much as 28% by 2030. In regions where renewable development is limited, consumers may face higher costs from importing power from neighboring states.

Jeremiah Johnson, lead author of the study and associate professor at North Carolina State University, said the scale of demand is large enough to affect power-sector planning and local siting decisions. Last year, opposition led to the delay or cancellation of more than $156 billion in planned data-center projects across 48 sites, according to Data Center Watch.

Seven in 10 Americans said they would oppose construction of an AI data center near their home, according to Gallup polling released last week. Fifteen percent of respondents cited concerns over higher utility bills as a primary reason.