AI Computing Drives Record Natural Gas Demand

The growing demand for AI computing is driving up natural gas consumption in the US. According to a new report from BloombergNEF, data centers could surpass Germany and Japan's combined gas use by 2035.

While private gas plants built beside tech giants' data centers get attention, most of the extra gas burned for AI computing will pass through ordinary power plants that feed the grid. The report projects that US data centers could consume about 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day by 2035.

The surge in demand is expected to push gas prices higher and add roughly 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every day. Grid-connected facilities account for most of this new demand, with an estimated 15 billion cubic feet per day of added power-sector gas demand by the middle of the next decade.