US data centers could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035
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The U.S. AI boom is driving data centers to become one of the world's largest consumers of natural gas.
According to BloombergNEF, U.S. data centers by 2035 will consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined—roughly 18 billion cubic feet per day, nearly double what the organization predicted nine months ago. Tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are building their own gas power plants at data centers. Rising demand for natural gas from data centers could push energy prices higher and create problems for ordinary utility customers. Burning this natural gas generates about 1 million extra metric tons of greenhouse gases daily—roughly 12 percent of today's total U.S. emissions.
The AI race has grown so frenzied that, by 2035, U.S. data centers are projected to consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined.
Vibekollen prepared this summary with AI from the original publication. The content belongs to TechCrunch AI.
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