BNEF says U.S. data centers could take about 20% of national power use by 2035

News Editor

2026-07-22 02:42:08

BloombergNEF’s latest forecast says U.S. data centers could account for about 20% of the country’s total electricity consumption by 2035, up sharply from roughly 5.9% today. The firm raised its 2035 estimate for data center power demand to 106 GW, 36% above the 78 GW projection it published in April this year. Current U.S. data center operating capacity stands at about 40 GW, equal to roughly 3.5%-4% of national power demand, while BloombergNEF’s base case puts the 2035 share at 8.6%. The Electric Power Research Institute’s high-growth model points to the same 20% ceiling if cryptocurrency mining and AI computing demand are both included. Against that backdrop, bitcoin miners including Core Scientific and Riot Platforms are working with major technology companies such as AWS and Google to convert former mining sites into AI data centers. Miners have already secured about 6 GW of power capacity, a figure expected to reach 12 GW by 2027, with some analysts estimating that around 20% of mining computing capacity could shift to AI workloads by then.

U.S. data centersBloombergNEFAI computingBitcoin miningPower demandCore ScientificERCOT

BloombergNEF’s latest forecast shows U.S. data centers could consume about 20% of the nation’s total electricity by 2035, a sharp increase from roughly 5.9% at present.

The firm raised its estimate for U.S. data center power demand in 2035 to 106 GW, up 36% from the 78 GW forecast it published in April this year. U.S. data centers currently have about 40 GW of operating capacity, equal to around 3.5%-4% of total national electricity demand. Under BloombergNEF’s base-case scenario, that share reaches 8.6% by 2035.

Mining and AI demand are part of the upper-bound case

The Electric Power Research Institute, or EPRI, said in its high-growth model that the upper limit also reaches 20% when the combined effect of cryptocurrency mining and AI computing demand is included.

As demand for AI computing rises, bitcoin miners are actively changing strategy. Companies including Core Scientific and Riot Platforms have partnered with technology giants such as AWS and Google to convert existing mining sites into AI data centers.

Power capacity secured by miners may increasingly serve AI workloads

Bitcoin miners have already locked in about 6 GW of power capacity, and that figure is expected to expand to 12 GW by 2027. Some analysts estimate that about 20% of miners’ computing capacity could be redirected to AI workloads by then.

Data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, shows data centers account for about 90% of large-load interconnection requests in the state. A large number of sites previously used for crypto mining are being replanned as AI computing facilities.

The trend has also shown up in public markets. After emerging from bankruptcy, Core Scientific struck a deal with AI cloud provider CoreWeave, and its share price rebounded significantly afterward.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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