Chinas data centres will reportedly use more power than South Korea by 2030

Date:
Wed, 26 Aug 2026 16:05:00 +0000

Description:
In 2025, Chinese data centers were expected to use 479 TWh/year by 2030. Now, they're expected to use 774 TWh/year by 2030.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Chinese data centers could use more electricity than the entirety of South Korea by 2030 Data centers are being relocated in cheaper regions when latency isn't crucial Flexible grid consumption could also play a role for less important work All the data centers in China are expected to consume a combined 774 TWh of electricity annually by the end of the decade, marking around a 4x increase over their current consumption, as the country continues to drive major AI investments, new reports have claimed.

Wood Mackenzie researchers anticipate China's data centers to represent
around 6% of China's total electricity consumption by 2030, a figure that's expected to continue climbing to as much as 17% by 2060. Data centers aside,
a 6% share by 2030 puts the country's total estimated annual electricity consumption at a staggering 12,900 TWh by the end of the decade, highlighting immense pressure on grids to expand. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Data centers could account for 6% of China's consumption by 2030, 17% by 2060 Energy consumption is set to come from two key areas when it
comes to artificial intelligence. Firstly, the predictable inference-related consumption that comes from running models for users and businesses. But secondly, unpredictable and high spikes will come from training as models become increasingly sophisticated.

The country is also seeing a split in where data centers are being located,
in a bid to cope with surging power demand. Large facilities near cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen offer low-latency connections for immediate performance, but tasks that can accept slightly poorer latency such as training, backup and storage are being moved out of town. You may like AI
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Western and northern regions of China, for example, promise cheaper land, cooler climates and greater access to renewable energy.

"As AI drives sustained growth in computing demand, access to reliable, cost-competitive and lower-carbon electricity will play a growing role in determining where and how new data-centre capacity is developed," research analyst Wanting Zhao wrote. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign
up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Energy is a major data center constraint Although analysts predict that data center-related energy consumption will continue to rise for decades, Wood Mackenzie expects data center emissions to peak around 2035, implying that renewable sources could
be slightly delayed.

Analysts also project that data centers could become more flexible in terms
of how they put pressure on the grid, in a similar way to how
latency-tolerant workloads could be moving away from the city. For example, non-urgent workloads could be scheduled for periods when renewable production is cheaper or other grid demand is lower.

"This flexibility could allow data centres to move beyond their traditional role as passive base loads and become a more active component of Chinas evolving power system," the company wrote.

As for the 774 TWh figure, that puts China's data centers markedly ahead of South Korea's total energy consumption across domestic and industrial measurements. The country as a whole generated around 596 TWh in 2025, per utility statistics .

That 774 TWh figure could also be set to change as we close in on the end of the decade just a year ago, Wood Mackenzie had predicted that China's data centers would consume 479 TWh annually by 2030, making this year's projection around 60% higher. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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