China's data centers to use more electricity than South Korea by 2030, report says

The researchers expect data centers to represent around 6% of China's total electricity consumption by 2030, a share that could climb to as much as 17% by 2060. With data centers included, China's total annual electricity demand is estimated to reach about 12,900 TWh by the end of the decade, putting significant pressure on grid expansion.

The projected energy use is tied to two main aspects of AI: predictable inference workloads that serve users and businesses, and highly variable spikes from training increasingly complex models. To manage surging power demand, the industry is splitting data center locations. Large facilities near cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen provide low-latency connections for time-sensitive tasks, while training, backup, and storage—which can tolerate slightly higher latency—are moving to western and northern regions that offer cheaper land, cooler climates, and greater access to renewable energy.

Wood Mackenzie research analyst Wanting Zhao noted that as AI drives sustained growth in computing demand, access to reliable, cost-competitive, and lower-carbon electricity will play a growing role in determining where and how new data-center capacity is developed.

The firm also projects that data center emissions will peak around 2035, implying that the shift to renewable sources could be slightly delayed. Analysts expect data centers to become more flexible in how they load the grid. Non-urgent workloads could be scheduled for periods when renewable generation is cheaper or overall grid demand is lower. This flexibility could allow data centers to move beyond their traditional role as passive base loads and become a more active component of China's evolving power system.

The 774 TWh projection marks a sharp upward revision from Wood Mackenzie's estimate a year ago, which put 2030 consumption at 479 TWh—making this year's forecast roughly 60% higher.