The AI buildout is reshaping global energy grids. In the US, data centers are boosting energy demand faster than the power network can keep up, according to ING analysis.
But the Dutch bank said that the data center buildout could be “a new grid asset” — developers are having to build their own power and power storage, which can be used to support local energy systems. In China, compute demand has also driven up electricity requirements: AI could reach 5.3% of the country’s total usage by 2030.
Authorities are pushing an “Eastern Data, Western Computing” model, Caixin reported, putting major power-hungry data centers in China’s more sparsely populated west and requiring those hubs to run off 80% green energy.
