Demand for electricity in the US will grow by 2.3% this year, more than double the average annual growth rate over the last decade, according to the International Energy Agency.
Data centers are the main driver of that growth, and their voracious need for power, combined with rising natural gas prices, means more power plants are switching from gas back to coal.
Still, the hotbed of electricity expansion remains China, which will account for more than 50% of global growth this year. But because of the rapid rise of renewables there, the IEA forecasts that by either the end of this year or early next, renewables will outpace coal in the global power generation mix. That means global power-sector emissions are expected to plateau this year and begin to gradually fall next year.
