Electricity prices in the United States alone could rise by 8,6% if companies do not adopt renewable sources to power their data centers, according to the report “Energy hungry: how AI will drive energy demand”, published by the IMF (International Monetary Fund).
The study highlights that global electricity demand could more than triple by 2030, reaching around 1.500 TWh.
Estimates are for a 22% increase in consumption in the United States, 13% in Europe and 10% in China, according to projections by consultancies McKinsey and JP Morgan.
Currently, data centers for approximately 1,5% of global electricity consumption. In the United States, this share is even higher, reaching 4%.
In Virginia, a state with a high concentration of data centers, around 26% of total electricity consumption in 2024 was allocated to these facilities.
The report of the IMF It also points out that annual global GDP growth could increase by 0,5% thanks to the spread of artificial intelligence.
In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft together invested nearly $75 billion (R$428 billion) in expanding IT infrastructure. data centers.
This is a volume five times greater than the US$ 15 billion (R$ 85 billion) invested in the first quarter of 2019.
Brazil will seek to exempt data centers
The Brazilian Government must send to the National Congress by the end of this semester a proposal to exempt investments in information technology destined for data centers from federal taxes.
The measure will be presented by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad during a visit to Silicon Valley, according to information from four sources heard by Reuters.
The proposal provides tax incentives, legal certainty and specific rules for the sector, focusing on large data processing centers used by technology companies, banks and digital services.
Named the National Data Center Policy, the initiative should include exemptions from IPI, PIS/Cofins and Import Tax on equipment used in the implementation phase of these centers.
The Government estimates that the new policy could unlock around R$2 trillion in investments over the next decade.
The sources interviewed also indicated that the benefited projects must meet sustainability criteria, such as using 100% renewable energy in their operations.
Other requirements will include reserving part of the centers' capacity for the domestic market, even in projects aimed at export, in addition to contributing to a fund to the artificial intelligence ecosystem in Brazil.
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