Today, Artificial Intelligence is considered an intangible phenomenon: algorithms, models, data and computing capacity. But underneath every interaction with an AI system lies something very physical: data centers that draw electricity in industrial quantities, 24 hours a day. The digital economy has now joined the traditionally energy-intensive sectors – such as steel, chemicals, cement and aluminum – with a concentrated, continuous and industrial-scale demand that does not allow any interruptions and is growing faster than the infrastructures needed to support it.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2025 global data center electricity consumption grew by 17%, to around 485 TWh. Projections at the beginning of 2026 indicate a doubling to around 950 TWh by 2030, with AI-specific consumption
set to triple.
The big tech players are gearing up to support this demand:
Microsoft has concluded a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy to restart a 835 megawatt reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania;
Meta, also in partnership with Constellation, has secured the production of the Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois for a period of 20 years, to provide about 1.1 gigawatts;
Google has signed with Kairos Power for a fleet of next-generation modular reactors, for upto 500 megawatts by 2035.
Contracts, participation, control: today, companies created to develop software have a seat at the table where the future of power plants, networks and new generation technologies is decided.
According to the IEA, in 2025, capital spending by major tech companies exceeded $400 billion, with a further expected increase of 75% in 2026, while investments by just five companies now exceed global investment in oil and gas production. A dimension which – the IEA observes – can no longer be sustained by corporate balance sheets alone.
Capital markets will therefore become increasingly more vital and, with them, the return expectations that guide their decisions. The energy that powers Artificial Intelligence has become a question of capital allocation, even before supply. It remains to be understood who – in addition to the few players able to sustain its scale – will have access to play this game, and under what conditions.
Andrea Mennillo
Founder and Managing Director, International Development Advisory
© 2026 Andrea Mennillo. All rights reserved
