AI Data Centers Are Driving a Gas and Solar Power Rush

TL;DR: Natural gas supplied 40% of the energy U.S. data centers used in 2024, ahead of renewables at 24%, according to the International Energy Agency, as relayed by The Athens Messenger. The bigger story is the grid. Demand is arriving faster than new supply can connect, so gas fills the gap.

How much power do AI data centers actually need?

A lot more per rack than the buildings they replace. A conventional data center rack draws 5 to 10 kilowatts, while AI racks need 40 to 100 kW, according to Hanwha Data Centers as cited by The Athens Messenger.

The grid-level numbers are just as large. Data centers use about 4% of U.S. electricity today, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as reported by Yahoo Finance, forecasts 6.7% to 12% by 2028. The Department of Energy cites EPRI estimates of up to 9% of U.S. generation by 2030.

The direction is firm. The exact share is not, and the range between those forecasts shows it.

What powers AI data centers right now?

Mostly gas in the U.S. The International Energy Agency, as reported by The Athens Messenger, found natural gas supplied 40% of U.S. data center energy in 2024. Globally the mix looks different, as the table shows.

Source	U.S. data centers, 2024	Global data centers, today
Natural gas	40%	26%
Renewables	24%	27%
Nuclear	20%	15%
Coal	15%	about 30%

The U.S. column comes from the International Energy Agency as relayed by The Athens Messenger. The global column comes from the IEA's own report. Coal carries about 30% of the global column against 15% in the U.S. That gap is why gas leads here and renewables edge it out worldwide.

Why is gas getting the new demand?

Because it's available and fast compared with the alternatives. RBC Capital Markets strategist Christopher Louney estimates that natural gas demand from data centers could rise by close to 20% by 2030, as reported by The Athens Messenger.

The grid itself is why so many operators are skipping it. Forbes reports that U.S. interconnection queues now exceed 2,600 gigawatts, with median approval waits beyond five years. So developers build their own plants. Meta's affiliate Sidecat runs a pair of 200-megawatt gas plants at its Ohio campus with no physical connection to the grid, per the same Forbes piece.

The scale is climbing. Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement for Project Kilby, a roughly 2.67-gigawatt, $7 billion gas plant in West Texas, with first power expected in 2028.

This matters to you because a slipped connection date hits a fund holder directly. The distributions you underwrote start later, and your lockup clock keeps running while you wait.

Where does solar fit?

Solar can reach the wire before a project is even finished. Yahoo Finance notes that solar farms can start delivering power to data centers before they're completed, and a new project typically takes around 18 months. The IEA says renewables are the fastest-growing source of data center electricity, growing 22% a year on average between 2024 and 2030.

The same IEA report expects gas and coal together to meet over 40% of the additional data center demand through 2030. Renewables grow fastest, but gas still carries a large share of the new load on this timeline.

What are the risks?

There are two kinds. The first is regulatory and environmental. Earthjustice, an advocacy group, counts 177 GW of planned gas "bring your own power" capacity and estimates $5 billion to $10 billion a year in health damages. Expect that kind of analysis to feed political pushback against these projects.

The second is consumer cost, and it deserves closer watching, because a utility bill is where a voter feels this. A report commissioned by solar installer Sunrun found 80% of consumers worry about data centers' effect on their utility bills, according to Yahoo Finance. Sunrun sells solar, so weigh the survey with that in mind.

What I'd watch as an accredited investor

The money chasing this is huge. Goldman Sachs projects $7.6 trillion in hyperscaler and developer spending on AI data centers through 2031, as reported by The Athens Messenger. The question that matters is who signs the power contracts. On a submarine, nothing got signed off until someone verified it, and I read a power contract the same way.

For you as an individual, that demand usually reaches you through private infrastructure funds, energy-focused private equity, or interval-fund wrappers that hold a slice of those projects. Before the pitch, ask two things. What is the full fee stack, and how quickly can you get your money out if the project's grid connection slips by a year or two?

If you want the investor side of this, start with our look at data centers as alternative investments. Then read how Energy Capital Partners built a fund around AI-driven power demand and how accredited investors access AI infrastructure through Aligned Data Centers. For the nuclear angle abroad, see Europe's data center boom and nuclear revival.

Common mistakes

The first mistake is treating a demand forecast as a return forecast. Power demand can rise while a specific project's economics still fail on interconnection delays, permitting fights or fuel costs. The second is assuming solar and gas compete, when the IEA expects both to grow. The third is reading an advocacy report or a vendor survey as neutral. Check who paid for the number before you rely on it.

FAQ

What energy powers AI data centers? In the U.S. in 2024, natural gas supplied 40%, renewables 24%, nuclear 20% and coal 15%, per the IEA as reported by The Athens Messenger. Globally the IEA puts renewables at about 27% and gas at 26%.

Why is energy demand increasing? AI racks draw 40 to 100 kW against 5 to 10 kW for conventional ones, per Hanwha Data Centers. The Department of Energy also points to manufacturing and electrification, which add to the growth beyond data centers.

How long does it take to connect a new power source to the grid? Forbes reports median approval waits beyond five years, with queues above 2,600 gigawatts. That delay is why some data centers build their own gas plants.

Does this mean I should buy energy investments? No. This is news analysis. Demand growth doesn't guarantee returns on any single project, so evaluate sponsor, structure, fees and liquidity first.

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