A new report from BloombergNEF projects that U.S. data centers could consume 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily by 2035, largely driven by AI infrastructure demands. This surge in energy consumption is expected to impact natural gas prices and significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.
The massive scale of projected energy use suggests that streaming and AI infrastructure will increasingly compete with traditional utilities for fuel supplies. As hyperscalers like Google and Amazon bypass the grid with private natural gas plants, the resulting demand surge could force a price correction that impacts the entire digital supply chain. This shift complicates corporate sustainability goals, as the projected 12% increase in total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions creates significant regulatory and reputational risks for infrastructure-heavy firms. Industry observers should monitor natural gas spot prices and potential utility rate hikes for residential consumers as these large-scale projects come online.
Rising energy requirements are a global concern, with Iowa data center power demand serving as a localized example of the broader infrastructure strain described in the BloombergNEF report. Recent developments in AWS AI infrastructure agility further highlight how hyperscalers are optimizing their hardware to manage these growing power and cooling constraints, while behind-the-meter data centers are increasingly scrutinized for their impact on operational risk.
A new BloombergNEF report projects that US data center natural gas consumption will reach 18 billion cubic feet daily by 2035. Driven by AI infrastructure demands, this surge could double previous forecasts, potentially impacting energy prices and complicating corporate sustainability goals as data centers compete with traditional utilities for fuel supplies.
Data centers are projected to consume 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by 2035.
The surge in demand is primarily driven by the infrastructure requirements of artificial intelligence.
Onsite power plants operated by Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are expected to account for up to 3.4 billion cubic feet of daily demand.
The increased demand could generate 1 million metric tons of additional greenhouse gas pollution every day, representing a 12% increase in total US greenhouse gas emissions.
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