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The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence—particularly the training of large-scale models that power many of today’s widely used applications—is driving renewed growth in electricity demand. A new report released by EPRI, the independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and multidisciplinary research institute Epoch AI forecasts that training a leading model could require more than 4 gigawatts (GW) of power by 2030—enough to power millions of US homes.
The training of large-scale AI models has historically required substantial, localized power supply. Despite rapid efficiency gains, the power demands of training a leading model have more than doubled every year for the past decade, according to the report. AI companies have found that increasing model size and complexity can provide better performance, which in turn drives the need for additional compute and electrical power. The report notes that the AI industry will likely continue to scale up its models in the coming years, despite recent breakthroughs in computational efficiency.
Projected Power Growth for Frontier AI Training
Overall power demand for AI extends well beyond large-scale training. Significant power capacity will be allocated toward the deployment of AI to serve users, as well as training smaller models and conducting AI research. According to the report, total AI power capacity in the US is estimated at around 5 GW today and could double annually to reach more than 50 GW by 2030—matching the total global demand from data centers today and comprising a rapidly growing share of overall data center power needs.
EPRI launched the DCFlex collaborative last year to demonstrate the technologies, policies, and tools needed to make data center flexibility a reality. Data center flexibility, including geographically distributed training data centers, could transform data centers from passive customers into grid assets to improve reliability, lower costs, and speed connections. The effort, which brings together more than 45 companies—including founding members Google, Meta, NVIDIA, and various utilities—recently launched its first real-world field demonstrations in Lenoir, N.C., Phoenix, Ariz., and Paris, France.
To read the full joint report, visit Scaling Intelligence: The Exponential Growth of AI's Power Needs.
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