Moody’s estimates that the US will build more than 30 GW of power capacity for data centers

The US could build more than 30 gigawatts of new electricity generation capacity to support the development of data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence and cloud services, according to an analysis published Monday by Moody’s Ratings. Investments could reach $110 billion, while the new power plants would increase energy costs by $25 billion to $30 billion annually.

Most of the additional capacity would come from natural gas-fired power plants, which would consume approximately 113 million cubic meters of gas. The remainder of the generation would come from solar power plants and storage systems, while restarting some nuclear reactors would contribute less than 5% of the total.

The estimates are based on forecasts by the International Energy Agency, according to which US data centers will consume 426 terawatt-hours in 2030. Their share of national electricity consumption would thus double, reaching 10%, compared with 2025 levels.

The rapid increase in demand is putting pressure on power generation, transmission, and interconnection networks. Although gas-fired power plants can provide dispatchable electricity, their projects are being slowed by lengthy implementation periods and disputes over transferring costs to consumers.