Data centers reshape energy markets as AI power demand surges

Dell Technologies outlines how data centers are reshaping energy markets due to AI-driven power demand.

• Main announcement/action: Dell highlights DOE projections that data centers could consume up to 12% of the U.S. electricity grid by 2028, with total data center electricity usage increasing between 325 and 580 TWh by 2028; the piece cites industry estimates of ~70% of future server deployments optimized for high-density GPUs through 2030, a projected 6x server power consumption increase and 200% rise in storage power demand by 2028. The article promotes Dell innovations — ~65% performance-per-watt improvement over two product generations, a PowerCool eRDHx design claiming it can capture up to 100% of the heat and deliver up to a 60% reduction in cooling energy costs, and notes interest in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and renewables for consistent power.
• Background and implementation details: The article describes Dell’s operational tools — Concept Astro (agentic AI, digital twins, automation) and iDRAC10 telemetry — to enable grid-aware workload scheduling by pulling real-time grid data and forecasting optimal execution windows; it references an NREL-produced map for the DOE Grid Deployment Office and third-party sources (Forbes, WRI, SPEC benchmarks) for technical and market context.