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U.S. Data Centers Could Outpace Germany and Japan in Natural-Gas Use by 2035
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Projected Natural-Gas Demand from U.S. Data Centers
BloombergNEF forecasts that U.S. data centers will consume about 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by 2035, a volume that would exceed the combined consumption of Germany and Japan. The projection is nearly double the estimate released nine months earlier and assumes that not every announced data-center project will be completed.
Drivers of the Forecast
The surge stems from two sources. First, several major tech firms—Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon—have announced plans to build on-site natural-gas power plants that bypass the electric grid, each expected to use 2.9 billion to 3.4 billion cubic feet per day by 2035. Second, grid-connected data centers are projected to add an additional 15 billion cubic feet per day of natural-gas demand to the power sector by the mid-2020s. BloombergNEF notes that this growth would be five times larger than the combined increase from all other grid-connected sectors through 2035.
Quantified Impact on Energy Markets and Emissions
Analysts at Noreva caution that the combined effect of the data-center expansion and rising U.S. LNG exports could push natural-gas prices higher, potentially straining utility ratepayers even if tech companies can absorb cost spikes. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that burning one cubic foot of natural gas releases roughly 60 grams of CO2 (including extraction, processing, and distribution). At the projected consumption level, data centers would emit an extra 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases daily, representing about 12 % of current U.S. total emissions.
Potential Economic and Climate Concerns
The forecast highlights a tension between the data-center industry’s reliance on stable natural-gas pricing and broader market dynamics. If prices rise sharply, the cost burden could shift from well-capitalized tech firms to residential and commercial electricity customers. Moreover, the additional carbon output would complicate U.S. climate-reduction goals, underscoring the need for policymakers and industry leaders to weigh the trade-offs between digital infrastructure growth and environmental sustainability.