Rising energy prices put AI and data centers in the crosshairs

As tech companies tout their plans for massive new data centers, consumers are increasingly worried that an AI-driven gold rush will ultimately drive up the price they pay for electricity, according to a new survey.

D ReportLaunched by solar installer Sunrun, found that 80% of consumers are concerned about the impact of data centers on their utility bills.

Consumer concerns are not unfounded.

Electricity demand in the United States has remained stable for more than a decade, According to To the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Over the past five years, commercial users, including data centers and industrial users, have begun to draw more deeply from the grid, with annual growth of 2.6% and 2.1% respectively. Meanwhile, residential consumption grew by only 0.7% annually.

Data centers use about 4% of the electricity generated in the US today, more than double their share in 2018. By 2028, consumption is predicted to grow from 6.7% to 12%, According to at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

New capacity increases from solar, wind and grid-scale battery storage have been able to meet generation demand. There have been big tech companies Making big deals for new utility-scale solarIn particular, energy sources are attracted by their low cost, modularity, and speed of energy. Solar farms can start supplying power to data centers before they are complete, and a new project takes about 18 months to complete.

The EIA expects renewable energy to dominate new generation capacity by at least the next year. The trend is likely to extend beyond 2026, but experts predict that the Republican repeal of key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act will hamper the growth of renewables.

Meanwhile, natural gas, another energy source favored by data center operators, has not met the moment. Production increased, but most of it went to new supplies Food exports Rather than the domestic market. Between 2019 and 2024, the use of power generators increased by 20%, while exporters used 140% more.

New natural gas power plants won’t be ready in time, because they move around four years According to the International Energy Agency, to complete. A backlog of turbines used by gas-fired power plants has compounded the problem. Delivery dates are quoted by the manufacturers Up to seven yearsAnd the newly announced production capacity is Not likely to change things.

Slowing natural gas production and knee-jerk renewables have hampered data center developers.

While AI and data centers aren’t entirely responsible for the rise in electricity demand — industrial users are almost as thirsty — they’re leading the headlines.

AI likely to be the focus of consumer ire: More people worry about it than technology, according to a Pew Survey. No wonder given that many employers have been wielding the tool A way to cut headcount Instead of increasing employee productivity.

Throw rising energy prices into the mix, and you can begin to see how a reaction could form.