AI boom to fuel natural gas demand in coming years: Report

A spike in power usage from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers could significantly boost natural gas demand in the second half of the decade, analysts at investment banker Tudor Pickering Holt & Co said in a report on Tuesday. As much as 8.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas could be required additionally to match the rise in demand, the report added.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

US power and technology companies have expressed concerns that the country’s electrical systems are not expanding fast enough to meet the rapidly growing power needs of technology such as Generative AI, prompting data center businesses to sometimes bypass utilities and strike deals directly with power producers or build their own supply.