China’s AI push is complicated by the demands made on its power grid

As China makes inroads in AI, the prospect of massive, data center-driven demand on the electricity grid is a key constraint.

China’s internet data service providers are using 45% more electricity than they did a year ago. That’s outpaced the 6.9% consumption growth pace for the nation as a whole. (The EV sector has been even more power-hungry.)

Growth for these key industries complicates China’s decarbonization efforts. The quickest way to add electricity capacity is via thermal plants powered by coal or natural gas. Solar can also be rolled out much more quickly than hydro or nuclear, but intermittency means it’s at a disadvantage producing the constant power AI data centers require.

Chinese regions with the greatest clean-energy potential are mostly far away from the tech hubs of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Beijing.