{
  "dataset": "datacentre-shares",
  "title": "AI's share of datacentres",
  "index": "Environmental Disclosure Index",
  "url": "https://aisafetytracker.org/environment/",
  "citation": "AI Safety Tracker, \"Environmental Disclosure Index\". https://aisafetytracker.org/environment/. Retrieved 23 October 2026.",
  "licences": [
    {
      "source": "environmental-disclosure-index",
      "name": "Environmental Disclosure Index",
      "publisher": "This site",
      "licence": "MIT",
      "licence_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT",
      "attribution": "AI Safety Tracker, \"Environmental Disclosure Index\". Licensed MIT."
    }
  ],
  "generated": "2026-10-23T21:52:04+00:00",
  "retrieved": "2026-10-23T00:00:00+00:00",
  "unit": null,
  "notes": "Our own reading of the IEA's Energy and AI and LBNL's 2025 US data centre report, reviewed 2026-10-23. A total, an AI portion and a share only where the publisher states them; a computed share divides two stated figures.",
  "count": 6,
  "records": [
    {
      "measure": "Datacentres",
      "scope": "World",
      "period": null,
      "total": null,
      "ai": null,
      "unit": null,
      "ai_share_pct": null,
      "share_basis": null,
      "ai_definition": null,
      "statement": "Neither the IEA nor LBNL counts datacentres, AI or otherwise.",
      "publisher": null,
      "document": null,
      "url": null,
      "reviewed": "2026-10-23",
      "source_id": "environmental-disclosure-index"
    },
    {
      "measure": "Servers installed",
      "scope": "United States",
      "period": "2024",
      "total": 30.9,
      "ai": 4.2,
      "unit": "million",
      "ai_share_pct": 13.6,
      "share_basis": "computed",
      "ai_definition": "Accelerated servers, those with GPUs or other AI accelerator chips.",
      "statement": "30.9 million servers installed in US datacentres in 2024, including 4.2 million accelerated servers.",
      "publisher": "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory",
      "document": "United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update (June 2026), p.17",
      "url": "https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/3374245#page=20",
      "reviewed": "2026-10-23",
      "source_id": "environmental-disclosure-index"
    },
    {
      "measure": "Electricity",
      "scope": "World",
      "period": "2024",
      "total": 415,
      "ai": null,
      "unit": "TWh",
      "ai_share_pct": 15,
      "share_basis": "stated",
      "ai_definition": "Electricity used by accelerated servers, which the IEA uses as a proxy for AI and describes as imperfect.",
      "statement": "Around 415 TWh in 2024, about 1.5% of global electricity demand. Accelerated servers accounted for 15% of it.",
      "publisher": "International Energy Agency",
      "document": "Energy and AI (April 2025), pp.56 and 63",
      "url": "https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/dd7c2387-2f60-4b60-8c5f-6563b6aa1e4c/EnergyandAI.pdf#page=56",
      "reviewed": "2026-10-23",
      "source_id": "environmental-disclosure-index"
    },
    {
      "measure": "Electricity",
      "scope": "World",
      "period": "2025",
      "total": 485,
      "ai": null,
      "unit": "TWh",
      "ai_share_pct": null,
      "share_basis": null,
      "ai_definition": null,
      "statement": "485 TWh in 2025, up 17% on 2024. Consumption by AI-focused datacentres grew 50% in 2025. No AI share of the total is given.",
      "publisher": "International Energy Agency",
      "document": "Key Questions on Energy and AI (April 2026), p.9",
      "url": "https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/3179f7f8-01f6-4dd6-bffa-c9f7b73f1dc9/KeyQuestionsonEnergyandAI.pdf#page=10",
      "reviewed": "2026-10-23",
      "source_id": "environmental-disclosure-index"
    },
    {
      "measure": "Electricity",
      "scope": "United States",
      "period": "2024",
      "total": 192,
      "ai": null,
      "unit": "TWh",
      "ai_share_pct": null,
      "share_basis": null,
      "ai_definition": null,
      "statement": "192 TWh in 2024, 4.7% of US electricity, excluding cryptocurrency mining. An AI share is stated only for 2030: 55% in the reference case.",
      "publisher": "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory",
      "document": "United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update (June 2026), pp.8 and 25",
      "url": "https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/3374245#page=11",
      "reviewed": "2026-10-23",
      "source_id": "environmental-disclosure-index"
    },
    {
      "measure": "Water consumed",
      "scope": "World",
      "period": "2023",
      "total": 560,
      "ai": null,
      "unit": "billion litres",
      "ai_share_pct": null,
      "share_basis": null,
      "ai_definition": null,
      "statement": "Around 560 billion litres a year: about two thirds through electricity generation and fuel supply, a quarter in cooling on site, the rest in chip manufacture. No AI portion is given.",
      "publisher": "International Energy Agency",
      "document": "Energy and AI (April 2025), p.242",
      "url": "https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/dd7c2387-2f60-4b60-8c5f-6563b6aa1e4c/EnergyandAI.pdf#page=242",
      "reviewed": "2026-10-23",
      "source_id": "environmental-disclosure-index"
    }
  ]
}