Consumers are increasingly worried that AI-driven data center growth will raise electricity bills, with 80% expressing concern in a recent survey.
Rising energy prices are putting AI and data centers in the spotlight, as data centers now consume about 4% of U.S. electricity, more than double their share in 2018, with projections rising to 6.7%–12% by 2028.
New renewable energy capacity, especially utility-scale solar, is being deployed rapidly to power data centers due to its low cost and speed of deployment.