Data centers now attract more investment than than finding new oil supplies

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that global investment in data centers has surpassed spending on new oil supplies, with $580 billion allocated to data centers this year—$40 billion more than for oil exploration. This shift highlights the growing economic importance of digital infrastructure. Electricity consumption by AI data centers is projected to increase fivefold by 2030, doubling the current total energy use of all data centers. Conventional data centers will also see energy demand rise, though less dramatically. Half of this growth is expected in the U.S., with significant increases also in Europe and China. Most new data centers are being built in large urban areas, often clustered near existing facilities, which is causing challenges such as grid congestion and long connection wait times, sometimes up to a decade. The IEA notes that supply chain constraints—such as shortages of cables, critical minerals, gas turbines, and transformers—are delaying grid upgrades needed to support this expansion. Emerging technologies like solid-state transformers could improve grid integration and stability