As artificial intelligence (AI) and its attendant data demand continue to expand in India and worldwide, a curious dilemma has arisen: will AI help transform energy delivery for the better or will the data centres crucial to its operations impose a new burden on the world’s power grid?

In a 2024 report , the International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted the growing interconnections between energy and AI worldwideIt projected that demand from data centres would more than double by 2030 to around 945 TWh and that AI would be the principal driver. The demand from AI-optimised data centres was projected to more than quadruple by 2030.

A McKinsey report has also estimated that the annual global demand for data centre capacity could rise at 19-22% from 2023 to 2030, reaching 171-219 GW, ag

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