The world’s energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA), has raised its predictions for global electricity demand growth, citing a surge in electric transport, air conditioning, and datacentre usage. The agency forecasts that electricity use will grow by almost 4% annually until 2027, outpacing Japan’s annual consumption.
This shift is largely driven by the climate crisis, with people turning to air conditioning to cope with extreme temperatures and economies transitioning away from fossil fuels towards cleaner power sources. Governments are increasingly relying on electricity for transport, heating systems, and heavy industry.
The IEA warns that this rapid expansion of energy-hungry datacentres supporting artificial intelligence (AI) could strain energy supplies, driving up costs and hindering efforts to cut fossil fuels from power generation. China is expected to lead the charge, with demand growing by 7% last year and forecasted to increase by 6% annually for the next three years.
The US will also experience significant growth, adding equivalent California-sized power consumption to the national total by 2027. In contrast, the European Union’s growth is expected to be more modest, returning to pre-pandemic levels by 2027.
Experts stress that while a growing stock of clean energy projects can keep pace with demand, it may not be enough to displace existing fossil fuel electricity use. “More investment in clean electricity is needed” says Dave Jones, director at Ember, or else coal and gas generation could remain at record levels in 2027.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/14/electric-cars-datacentres-new-global-age-of-electricity