US data centres have increased their power demand by 19% per year since 2020 – that’s 10x faster than the annual capacity expansion of the electricity grid.
This data comes from a new report by global insurance broker Howden, whose analysis revealed how growing demand for AI infrastructure (hence data centers) is exposing much older underinvestment in grid networks.
As a result of the rapid growth in AI useage and therefore infrastructure and power demand, data centres’ share of total US grid capacity has grown 50-fold, from 0.1% in 2000 to 5% in 2025.
Deborah Duss, Global Head of Advisory & Client Solutions, Global Specialty, Howden, said: “The data centre boom is shining a spotlight on an infrastructure challenge that has been building for years. While generation projects often benefit from faster development including permitting, grid infrastructure faces more complex project scopes, lengthy permitting, and multiple stakeholder interests, making it harder to keep pace with growing electricity demand.
For data centres, this makes location increasingly critical. A data centre, its power source and the grid infrastructure connecting the two cannot be considered in isolation. They are three interdependent parts of the same ecosystem and ultimately three key drivers of project success.”
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