Capacity and energy
MW measures power or capacity; TWh measures energy over time. The two cannot be added together, and capacity alone does not establish actual annual consumption.
Boundaries and periods
IT load and whole-facility electricity use can have different boundaries. Before applying PUE, establish which components are already included so that cooling and other overheads are not counted twice. Record planned capacity, operational capacity and actual load separately.
The IEA’s 2025 report estimates that data centers used about 415 TWh globally in 2024, with the US and China accounting for roughly 45% and 25%. These shares cover all data center electricity use; they do not measure AI alone or shares of facility counts.
Projections and observations
The same report’s figure of approximately 945 TWh for 2030 is a projection. The Tracker page displays the reference year, unit and projection status together rather than combining unlike figures in an unannotated trend.