Advances in artificial intelligence adoption and use are causing massive spikes in electricity use, as well. Tech companies are now using so much electricity for data centers that the organizations’ total energy spends rival those of entire nations.
Microsoft and Google each used 24 TWh of electricity in 2023, according to TechRadar, an energy spend similar to the entire country of Azerbaijan. Iceland, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, and Tunisia each consumed 19 TWh, while Jordan consumed 20 TWh, according to the piece. The total electricity used by each of those two tech giants is more than 100 individual countries.
Comparing the energy spend of individual companies to entire countries illustrates the intense energy requirements of the computing power required for artificial intelligence. It also highlights the high environmental price of the move toward AI. Both these companies have carbon neutrality pledges which look increasingly unlikely as their energy consumption skyrockets.
Google and Microsoft are the second and fourth largest global companies, measured by market capitalization.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine
