According to a report by Gartner, artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) are driving rapid increases in electricity consumption, with data centre forecasts over the next two years reaching a 160 per cent growth. Gartner predicted that 40 per cent of existing AI data centres will be operationally constrained by power availability by 2027.
The report estimated that the power required for data centres to run incremental AI-optimised servers will reach 500 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year in 2027, which is 2.6 times the level in 2023.
As per the report, in the near future, the number of new data centres and the growth of GenAI will be governed by the availability of power to run them. Gartner recommends organisations determine the risks potential power shortages will have on all products and services. Electricity prices will increase as the inevitable result of impending power shortages, which will also increase the costs of operating large language models (LLMs).
It recommended that organisations evaluate future plans anticipating higher power costs and negotiate long-term contracts for data centre services at reasonable rates for power. Organisations should also factor significant cost increases when developing plans for new products and services, while also looking for alternative approaches that require less power.
Zero-carbon sustainability goals will also be negatively affected by short-term solutions to provide more power, as surging demand is forcing suppliers to increase production by any means possible. In some cases, this means keeping fossil fuel plants that had been scheduled for retirement in operation beyond their scheduled shutdown.
The report highlighted that data centres require 24/7 power availability, which renewable power such as wind or solar cannot provide without some form of alternative supply during periods when not generating power. Reliable 24/7 power can only be generated by either hydroelectric, fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. In the long-term, new technologies for improved battery storage (like sodium ion batteries) or clean power (like small nuclear reactors) will become available and help achieve sustainability goals.
Gartner further recommended organisations to re-evaluate sustainability goals relating to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in light of future data centre requirements and power sources for the next few years. When developing GenAI applications, they should focus on using a minimum amount of computing power and look at the viability of other options such as edge computing and smaller language models.
