AI’s Power Hunger Could Eclipse Bitcoin Mining by 2026

Forget crypto winters—AI’s energy binge might just melt the grid first.

New research suggests artificial intelligence could outpace Bitcoin’s notorious electricity consumption within two years. The same tech promising to ’optimize everything’ may end up guzzling more power than entire nations.

Meanwhile, Wall Street still can’t decide if either technology is ’the future’ or just a really elaborate way to burn VC cash.

De Vries-Gao makes projections based on the ‘triangulation’ technique

AI has a power problem. While tech giants pour billions into development, they’re hitting a wall that has nothing to do with chips, algorithms, or talent. The problem is fundamental: the electrical grid can’t handle what’s coming. The latest Prinsights linked below details why. pic.twitter.com/0L4JXJgebV

— Nomi Prins (@nomiprins) May 28, 2025

De Vries-Gao made projections based on the supply chain for specialized computer chips used for AI as he and other researchers tried to understand AI’s energy consumption. The researchers discovered that AI’s energy appetite is growing fast enough to warrant more scrutiny despite efficiency gains.

To figure this out, De Vries-Gao used what he called a “triangulation” technique.

The researcher turned to publicly available device details, analyst estimates, and companies’ earnings calls to estimate hardware production for AI and how much energy that hardware is likely to use.

De Vries-Gao calculated how specialized AI equipment could be produced and compared that to information about how much electricity these devices consumed. He found that last year, they likely burned through as much electricity as his home country of the Netherlands.

“That’s how we know that both Google’s and Microsoft’s carbon footprints have grown in recent years as they focus on AI. But companies usually don’t break down the data to show what’s attributable to AI specifically.”

–Alex de Vries-Gao, the founder of Digiconomist

Last week, a separate report from consulting firm ICF forecasted a 25% rise in energy demand in the U.S. by the end of the decade, largely thanks to AI, traditional data centers, and bitcoin mining.

Another article published in MIT Technology Review last week, with support from the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, claimed that it is still hard to make blanket predictions about AI’s energy consumption and the resulting environmental impact.

Meta plans to power a giant AI data center with gas

Meta announced in mid-May that it is building a new AI data center so large in Louisiana that the local utility company planned to set up three new gas-fired power plants to provide it with enough energy. However, advocates and lawmakers pressed Meta for answers about how it WOULD clean up pollution from the data center’s energy consumption.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wrote a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on May 14 demanding answers about how much energy the data center would use. He also sought answers about the greenhouse gas emissions that would be generated. The letter pointed out that the gas-powered new data center flew in the face of Meta’s climate commitments.

Sen. Whitehouse also stated that Meta’s backslide from its own climate pledges in 2020 risks triggering broader economic harm at a time when corporate responsibility is urgently needed.

Logan Burke, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, claimed it is hard to figure out whether a facility like Meta’s is good or bad for communities without understanding the possible impact on electrical systems, bills, and water.

However, Meta maintained that it will continue matching its electricity use with support for renewable energy, including a commitment to help fund 1,500 megawatts of new solar and battery resources in Louisiana. 

KEY Difference Wire: the secret tool crypto projects use to get guaranteed media coverage