Google says AI growth pushed electricity use up 37% in 2025
Google’s sustainability report says data centers drove record power demand, while clean energy purchases helped cut operational emissions.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Google said its electricity consumption rose 37% in 2025, the largest annual increase the company has reported. The jump shows how fast AI infrastructure, cloud services and video streaming are increasing demand on power grids, even as Google says it is buying enough clean energy to offset that growth.
In its latest sustainability report, Google said total electricity use has climbed by more than 250% since 2019. The company linked the rise to expansion in Google Cloud, YouTube streaming, data center construction and operations that support AI products and services.
The 2025 increase followed a 27% rise in 2024, according to Google. The company said its AI infrastructure is expanding faster than power grids are adding carbon-free electricity, while saying it remains focused on adding clean power and cutting emissions from its operations and the broader industry.
Google’s data centers accounted for most of the company’s electricity demand. The company reported that those facilities used more than 42 million megawatt-hours in 2025, up from 30.6 million megawatt-hours in 2024.
Ars Technica noted that level of data center power use is comparable to the annual electricity consumption of some countries, including New Zealand, Denmark and Nigeria. Google’s report also includes water-use figures for several data center campuses.
Emissions fell in operations, but rose in the supply chain
Google said its operational emissions fell 2% over the same period, despite the steep increase in electricity consumption. The company described that as a separation of electricity-related emissions from growth in power use, while saying it will need more clean energy investment and closer work with local stakeholders.
The company reported a different trend in its supply chain. Google said emissions from contracted manufacturers and suppliers increased 25%, citing an Asia-Pacific supply chain that relies on grids with limited carbon-free power.
Google said it has matched 100% of its global electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases for nine consecutive years. In 2025, the company said its purchase agreements covered 12 gigawatts of new clean energy, its highest annual total.
The company also acknowledged a limitation of annual clean energy matching: companies can claim full renewable coverage while drawing from local grids that still use fossil fuels. Google said it is putting renewed attention on its 24/7 carbon-free energy goal, which uses more specific accounting to match clean power by hour and location.
Clean energy push includes gas scrutiny
Michael Thomas, chief executive of Cleanview, said Google has become one of the world’s largest clean energy technology investors. In an analysis of Google’s data center power strategy, Thomas said the company has shifted toward a broad approach that includes renewables, nuclear-related technologies, geothermal, energy storage and natural gas generation.
Google’s sustainability report said the company’s investments include advanced nuclear, fusion energy, enhanced geothermal, long-duration storage and natural gas with carbon capture and storage. Google said it invested more than $3.8 billion from 2010 through 2025 in projects expected to bring 7.5 gigawatts of clean energy online.
Thomas also reported in an April 2026 newsletter that Google’s $40 billion Texas data center investment includes a campus that could be supplied by a 933-megawatt natural gas plant without carbon capture. He said that plant’s turbines could emit 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
A Google spokesperson told Thomas the company had not signed an agreement determining how much electricity that data center would take from the gas plant.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.