The measured US figure of record: 176 TWh, 4.4 percent of national electricity in 2023
The 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report, prepared at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and released by the Department of Energy on 20 December 2024, put data center electricity use at 176 TWh in 2023, about 4.4 percent of total United States electricity, and projected a range of 325 to 580 TWh by 2028.
The verdict
Verified
The document exists. The ledger fetched it at its publisher and quotes it.
Key facts
What the sources say
- Record ID
- AIA-2026-0004
- Kind
- Figure of record
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Last verified
- Added
- Data centers consumed about 4.4 percent of total US electricity in 2023, on the report's own accounting.
- The measured figure for 2023 is 176 TWh.
- The report's projection for 2028 is a range of 325 to 580 TWh, which it frames as approximately 6.7 to 12 percent of total US electricity.
- The 2028 numbers are the report's projection, not a measurement.
Figures
Every number, with who measured it and when
- 176 TWh
US data center electricity use in 2023
US Department of Energy, DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers, primary source, as of .
- 4.4 percent
US data center share of total electricity in 2023
US Department of Energy, DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers, primary source, as of .
- 325 TWh
Report projection for 2028, low end of the published range
US Department of Energy, DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers, primary source, as of .
- 580 TWh
Report projection for 2028, high end of the published range
US Department of Energy, DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers, primary source, as of .
What it changes
For an operator, a utility or a community
An operator quoting a national share in a planning hearing should quote this one and say which year it measures. A utility should note that the range for 2028 is wide enough to carry two different capital plans, so a single point estimate taken from it is an argument, not a fact. A community should ask whether a local claim about percentage of grid load came from this report or from a vendor's own extrapolation.
Sources
What this record was verified against
Related
Records that sit beside this one
The EIA forecasts record US electricity consumption in 2026 and 2027
United States · verified 15 September 2026
The outlook states that the United States uses record amounts of electricity in the forecast.
The global figure of record: 415 TWh of data centre electricity in 2024
Global · verified 15 September 2026
Data centres accounted for around 1.5 percent of world electricity consumption in 2024, or 415 TWh.
Open question: does behind the meter generation escape interconnection rules
United States · verified 15 September 2026
The DOE proposal to FERC reaches loads that share a point of interconnection with new or existing generation, which is the colocation case.
Open question: should a data center's water use be public, site by site
United States · verified 15 September 2026
The EU scheme collects water usage as a key performance indicator and publishes only aggregated figures at Member State and Union level.
Georgia SB 421 would stop local governments hiding data center water and power figures
United States · verified 15 September 2026
The bill targets the agreement, not the facility: it would prohibit local governments from signing away the public's access to usage figures.
State legislatures, not Washington, are writing the data center water rules
United States · verified 15 September 2026
California AB 1577 would require monthly reports to the State Energy Commission on energy and water consumption.
Cite this record
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with attribution. The record ID AIA-2026-0004 is permanent and is never reused.
- In a sentence
- According to the GAGE AI Infrastructure Atlas (as of 15 September 2026), the measured us figure of record: 176 twh, 4.4 percent of national electricity in 2023.
- APA
- GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). (2026). The measured US figure of record: 176 TWh, 4.4 percent of national electricity in 2023. AI Infrastructure Atlas. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0004-lbnl-2024-us-data-center-energy-usage-report
- MLA
- "The measured US figure of record: 176 TWh, 4.4 percent of national electricity in 2023." AI Infrastructure Atlas, GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education), 15 September 2026, https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0004-lbnl-2024-us-data-center-energy-usage-report.
- Chicago
- GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). "The measured US figure of record: 176 TWh, 4.4 percent of national electricity in 2023." AI Infrastructure Atlas. Last modified 15 September 2026. https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0004-lbnl-2024-us-data-center-energy-usage-report.
- Permalink
- https://www.gage.academy/tools/ai-infrastructure-atlas/records/AIA-2026-0004-lbnl-2024-us-data-center-energy-usage-report
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