Rising electricity demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining could increase national power costs by up to 29% and CO2 emissions by 28% by 2030, according to new research.

Key Points

• North Carolina State University researchers project electricity costs could spike by as much as 57% in specific regions by 2030.
• High-impact areas include Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and parts of Texas due to concentrated data center expansion.
• Increased power demand is expected to reverse two decades of progress in reducing carbon emissions within the U.S. power sector.
• The study utilized energy system optimization models to analyze hourly supply and demand across 26 regional power grids.
• Findings published in Environmental Research Letters suggest that distributing data centers more broadly could help mitigate localized price surges.

Why it Matters

The rapid growth of data centers threatens to strain existing power infrastructure and inflate utility bills for consumers across the United States. Policymakers must now balance the economic benefits of digital infrastructure expansion against the urgent need to manage rising energy costs and environmental impacts.