Amid concerns over electricity demand due to AI growth, a recent paper suggests that data centers could alleviate pressure by curtailing their power consumption slightly. By limiting their power draw to 90% for short periods, data centers could unlock 76 gigawatts of capacity—surpassing the global usage of all data centers combined. This method of demand-response leverages the flexibility of data centers, allowing them to shift computing tasks and reduce usage during peak times, ultimately addressing potential shortages without significant performance impacts.
By limiting power drawn from the grid to 90% of the maximum for a couple hours at a time, new users could unlock 76 gigawatts of capacity.
Data centers could be ideal demand-response participants because they have the potential to be flexible in their electricity use.
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