US utilities will need to increase energy generation by up to 26% by 2028 as energy demand is expected to exceed supply in the next few years, according to new Bain analysis.
To put the increase in context, a 26% increase is far beyond the largest five-year generation boost of about 5% that US utilities achieved from 2005 through 2023.

The reason is that annual energy consumption by data centers could x2 between 2023-2027, growing at a compound annual rate of 10-24% — “and, potentially surpassing 1 million gigawatt hours in 2027.”
For example, a 1-gigawatt data center requires the capacity of about four natural gas plants or around half of a large nuclear plant.

Globally, to meet such an increase in energy demand could need more than US$2 trillion. In the US, utilities would need to generate up to 19% in additional revenue annually than previously forecast.

And such an increase in investment in energy generation would have a significant impact on critical mineral demand, from tin to copper, uranium to rare earths, to build out the necessary infrastructure.
Read more in our recent report on how the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) expected to spark a 10-year critical mineral supercycle as the massive energy needs of new AI data centers will increase pressure on global supply chains already under strain to meet global net-zero targets.