Electricity consumption by data centres will more than double by 2030, driven by artificial intelligence applications that will create new challenges for energy security and CO2 emission goals, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.

At the same time, AI can unlock opportunities to produce and consume electricity more efficiently, the agency said in its first report on the energy implications of AI.

Data centres represented about 1.5 percent of global electricity consumption in 2024, but that has increased by 12 percent annually over the past five years. Generative AI requires colossal computing power to process information accumulated in gigantic databases.

Together, the United States, Europe, and China currently account for about 85 percent of data centre consumption.

Big tech companies increasingly recognise their growing need for power. Google last year signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors to help power its part in the artificial intelligence race.

At the current rate, data centres will consume about three percent of global energy by 2030, the report said.

According to the IEA, data centre electricity consumption will reach about 945 terawatt hours by 2030.

"This is slightly more than Japan's total electricity consumption today. AI is the most important driver of this growth, alongside growing demand for other digital services," said the report.

One 100 megawatt data centre can use as much power as 100,000 households, the report said.

But it highlighted that new data centres, already under construction, could use as much as two million households. (AFP)