FACT BRIEFAre data centers increasing demand for electricity in Nevada?
Yes.
Energy-intensive data centers, used for artificial intelligence (AI), are increasing demand for electricity across the U.S., including in Nevada.
The Electric Power Research Institute found that data centers accounted for 8.69% of electricity consumed in Nevada in 2023, projected to grow to 20% by 2030.
Telsa and Google already have centers in Nevada, and now Switch is building new "AI factories" spanning 199,000 and 228,000 square feet. Vantage Data Centers recently invested $3 billion to create multistory data centers totaling over 1 million square feet.
The typical AI data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, according to the International Energy Agency.
This demand forces utilities to invest in infrastructure, purchase or generate extra electricity and upgrade the grid — costs passed on to consumers.
One analysis estimates annual demands on NV Energy will be 18% higher in 2030 and 34% higher in 2035 amid data center requests for more capacity.
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Sources
- Electric Power Research Institute Powering Intelligence: Analyzing Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Energy Consumption
- International Energy Agency The transformative potential of AI depends on energy
- Vantage Data Centers AI Campus
- Switch AI Factories
- Western Resource Advocates Nevada Fact Sheet
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