The Autorité publishes its study on the competition issues surrounding the energy and environmental impact of artificial intelligence

The energy and environmental impact of artificial intelligence

The energy impact of AI

The rise of AI is accompanied by particularly high energy consumption, due to its substantialelectricity requirements, notablyto power data centres and high-performance computing infrastructure.

Data centres today account for approximately 1.5% of global electricity consumption, but their local impact is far more significant, and their consumption could, at a minimum, more than double by 2030 as a result of AI, to reach up to 945 terawatt-hours (TWh). In France, data centre consumption, estimated at 10 TWh in the early 2020s, could reach 12 to 20 TWh in 2030 and 19 to 28 TWh in 2035, representing almost 4% of the country's electricity consumption. As a result, some major operators - in particular US companies - are securing (or have already secured) supply partnerships for decarbonised energy, such as renewable or nuclear energy.