As tech giants race to build larger data centers to power artificial intelligence systems, rising energy prices have put the industry under scrutiny. A new survey commissioned by solar installer Sunrun found that 80% of consumers are worried about how data center growth will affect their utility bills, signaling growing public unease over AI’s energy footprint.
The concerns coincide with a measurable increase in electricity use driven by commercial and industrial users. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that, after more than a decade of stability, national electricity demand has climbed steadily over the past five years. Annual growth reached 2.6% among commercial users and 2.1% among industrial users, while residential demand grew by only 0.7%.
Data centers alone now consume about 4% of U.S. electricity generation, more than twice their share in 2018. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory projects that by 2028, that share could rise to between 6.7% and 12%, driven largely by AI-related workloads and expanded data infrastructure.
For now, new generation from solar, wind, and grid-scale batteries has helped keep supply in line with rising demand. Solar energy has become the preferred choice for many tech companies, favored for its low cost, modularity, and relatively short 18-month construction timeline. Some solar projects begin delivering electricity even before full completion, a feature that allows data centers to ramp up operations more quickly.
The EIA expects renewables to dominate new power capacity additions through at least next year, though experts warn that a potential Republican rollback of key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act could slow the pace of renewable expansion after 2026.
Meanwhile, natural gas, another key energy source for data center operators, has struggled to meet growing domestic needs. While production has increased, most of the new supply has gone toward exports. Between 2019 and 2024, natural gas consumption by electricity generators rose 20%, but exporters saw a 140% increase in demand. New gas-fired power plants take roughly four years to build, and supply chain bottlenecks have pushed turbine delivery times to as long as seven years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The slowdown in gas infrastructure and the potential stall in renewable energy expansion have placed data center developers in a difficult position. Though AI and data centers are not the only drivers of higher energy consumption—industrial sectors have shown comparable increases—they have become the focal point of public attention.
The backlash risk is amplified by shifting public sentiment toward AI itself. A Pew Research Center survey found that more Americans are concerned than excited about AI’s growing influence, especially as employers use automation to reduce headcount rather than to enhance productivity. Rising electricity prices, paired with skepticism about AI’s societal value, could intensify public resistance to the sector’s continued expansion.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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