Data center proliferation driving up power needs
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, Dec. 3, 2025…..Power demand from U.S. data centers is expected to surge to 106 gigawatts by 2035, according to a new forecast, a spike that’s driven by growth in artificial intelligence and that may influence the state’s decarbonization and AI leadership goals.
The projected demand is up from the just 40 gigawatts of energy U.S. data centers currently need and a 36% rise over what Bloomberg projected in April, according to a BloombergNEF report released Tuesday. The rise in demand is bolstered by an influx of early-stage data center projects Bloomberg has identified.
Advocates have raised concerns about data centers’ potential environmental effects. These are especially pressing as President Donald Trump has hampered progress on regional renewable energy projects, potentially leading data center operators to turn to less clean sources like diesel generators, said Noah Berman, senior policy advocate at the Acadia Center.
“It’s literal local pollution that has pretty significant health impacts,” Berman said. “…The impacts are real, and they are being felt in real communities all around and unless these facilities are really monitored closely, there’s also not a lot of transparency when it comes to data center development.”
Along with this, data centers strain water supplies and can cause noise or aesthetic concerns in neighborhoods where they are built, he said.
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