US Data Center Gas Demand to Exceed Germany and Japan Combined by 2035
A BloombergNEF report forecasts that US data center natural gas consumption will reach 18 billion cubic feet per day by 2035, nearly double its prediction from just nine months prior. Driven by rapid AI infrastructure expansion, data centers will become the second-largest driver of US natural gas demand growth after LNG exports. This massive surge risks inflating electricity costs for everyday consumers while generating an extra 1 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions per day, representing about 12% of total US greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights how the AI boom is putting intense pressure on fossil fuel supplies and national decarbonization goals. Hyperscalers including Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon plan to build self-generated, on-site natural gas power plants that will consume 2.9 to 3.4 billion cubic feet per day by 2035. However, grid-dependent data centers will account for the majority of the new demand, requiring an additional 15 billion cubic feet per day for grid power generation.
## BACKGROUND
As electric grid constraints and long interconnection queues threaten to delay data center deployment, tech companies are increasingly exploring behind-the-meter power solutions. Behind-the-meter installations generate electricity directly at the facility site rather than pulling power from the public electrical grid, allowing data centers to secure reliable energy faster.