This data-file estimates the electricity demand from data-servers and the proportion of that demand that could be “demand-shifted”, by compiling notes and data-points from technical papers.
We estimate data-centers comprise 2% of global electricity and will likely rise to at least 5% by 2030. Around 40% of data-center energy demand can likely be demand-shifted, of which two-thirds is temporal and one-third is geographical.
This permits another 1-2% potential share for renewables in the grid, without needing to resort to curtailment, or to install expensive batteries or other backup solutions, per our recent research.