US power shortage to leave 43 GW of AI chips idle by 2030
AccBalanced · x · 2026-08-18
BloombergNEF reports that power is becoming the critical bottleneck for AI. By 2030, US data center power demand is projected to reach 118 GW, while AI chip shipments will require 161 GW, creating a 43 GW deficit. The US grid has never connected more than 10 GW of new load in a single year, yet needs multiples of that annually. In contrast, China added roughly 540 GW of capacity in 2025, 8 times that of the US. Analysts warn that if the US cannot power the chips, they may be sold to countries with surplus capacity.
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