AI to drive 70% of Russia's data center energy growth
Russian data centers are projected to see a 76% increase in electricity consumption by 2030, with AI responsible for about 70% of this growth, according to National Rating Agency forecasts. The Moscow region's share of data center power use is expected to drop from 76% in 2024 to 51% by 2030, while regional areas will grow from 20% to 41%.
Consensus
- AI will account for approximately 70% of the increase in electricity consumption at Russian data centers over the next five years.
- Russia's data centers are projected to consume 26.2 billion kWh of electricity by 2030.
- This represents a 76% increase compared to 2025 levels.
- The Moscow region's share of data center energy consumption is expected to decrease from 76% in 2025 to 51% by 2035.
- The share of data center energy consumption in regions outside Moscow and St. Petersburg is expected to rise from 20% to 41%
- The average PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of data centers is expected to decrease to approximately 1.33 by 2030.
- New data centers are expected to achieve PUE levels between 1.1 and 1.3, with AI-specific facilities potentially reaching around 1.15.
- The colocation segment's energy consumption is projected to grow from 6.4 billion kWh to 7.9 billion kWh.
- Energy consumption for cloud services without AI load is expected to rise from 2.4 billion kWh to 3.8 billion kWh.
- Energy consumption for company-owned data centers is expected to increase from 3.5 billion kWh to 4 billion kWh.
Points of divergence
- AI workload consumption is expected to increase more than fourfold, from 2.6 billion kWh to over 10.5 billion kWh by 2030. — fontanka
- Nearly two-thirds of AI infrastructure's energy consumption by 2030 may come from facilities outside Moscow and St. Petersburg. — fontanka
- Commercial data centers and colocation remain more strongly tied to the Moscow region, with about two-thirds of their load remaining there. — fontanka
- The Russian Ministry of Energy estimated that AI development and training could require 2–2.5 GW of power by 2030. — fontanka
- Potential locations for large data centers include Leningrad Oblast, the Volga region, and the Urals. — fontanka
Coverage (2 sources)
- AI becomes more voracious. How much electricity will Russian data centers require — Фонтанка
- AI will ensure about 70% growth in data center energy consumption in Russia — Коммерсантъ