Data center demand is rising at a break neck speed, with little signs of slowing.

As the electricity consumption of AI rises, by 2028, a projected 12% of U.S. electricity demand could be driven from data centers. Beyond America, countries are pouring billions into AI sovereignty efforts which require data center facilities running 24/7 to power them.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows data center demand as a share of total power consumption, based on data from the IEA.

The Boom in Data Center Demand

Here is the share of each region’s total power demand that is driven by center centers:

As we can see, America’s data center demand leads globally, at 8.9% of total power consumption.

In Virginia, data centers account for 26% of the state’s total power consumption—or nearly triple the national average. This year, the state’s leading utility firm expects to connect 15 new data centers given surging demand.

As big tech ramps up AI spending, a significant share is being funnelled into massive data centers along with the energy sources that power them. In particular, demand for nuclear is expanding at the fastest rate in decades.

By comparison, data centers comprise 4.8% of the total power share in the European Union and 2.3% in China.

To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this graphic on the growth of data center capacity worldwide since 2005.