Google’s data center energy use doubled in 4 years
- MohammedKDev
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
Google’s data center energy use doubled in 4 years
In a recent sustainability report, Google disclosed that the energy consumption of its data centers has more than doubled within four years, surging from 14.4 million megawatt-hours in 2020 to 30.8 million megawatt-hours in 2024. This increase poses a challenge to Google's pledge to power its operations exclusively with carbon-free energy sources, particularly as data centers alone account for a staggering 95.8% of the company's electricity usage. Over the last decade, the electricity consumption at Google's data centers has increased sevenfold, from just over 4 million megawatt-hours in 2014. Despite efforts to improve energy efficiency in its data centers, achieving a power usage effectiveness (PUE) close to the ideal of 1.0, Google has found further progress limited, with marginal yearly improvements. To align with its carbon-free commitment, Google is heavily investing in diverse energy sources, including geothermal options and both types of nuclear power, alongside renewables. Recently, Google announced ambitions to expand in nuclear fusion and fission, with plans to obtain 200 megawatts of electricity from Commonwealth Fusion Systems and 500 megawatts from Kairos Power's small modular reactors. Meanwhile, Google's investment in renewable energy continues, with multiple deals totaling significant solar capacity in the U.S., representing a $20 billion initiative to fuel their growing data needs. Despite these strides, Google acknowledges the need for steady, carbon-free technologies to meet its goal of achieving 24/7 carbon-free energy, noting that as of now, only 66% of its data center consumption worldwide is matched hourly with carbon-free electricity. This average masks regional discrepancies, with some regions like Latin America achieving 92%, whereas others, including the Middle East and Africa, lag considerably at just 5%. Google's strategy hinges on advancing new energy technologies to bridge these gaps and fulfill its ecological objectives.
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