As data center energy needs soar amid a tightening power gap, a new report from Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) predicts that 35 GW of data center capacity will be announced within the next five years —over six times the average energy capacity used by New York City annually. To meet the surging demand, data centers are adopting onsite power systems as a primary energy source, a shift that reflects the industry’s drive for innovative solutions to address economic imperatives and ease pressure on the nation’s aging power grid.
The 2025 Data Center Power Report surveyed approximately 100 data center leaders who make decisions about power systems architecture and explored actions they are taking to address the time-to-power challenge. The report also includes insights from multiple data sources such as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, McKinsey & Company, and Goldman Sachs.
Key highlights include:
- In the U.S., an additional 55 GW of data center IT capacity is expected to come online in the next five years (vs. the 25 GW of existing capacity today). Approximately 20 GW of additional capacity has been announced to date.
- Data center leaders are taking responsibility for their power needs: approximately 30% of all sites are expected to use onsite power as a primary energy source by 2030 — more than double the percentage reported just seven months earlier.
- Decision makers are now prioritizing new factors like time-to-power and the ability to support more demanding and fluctuating AI workloads, reflecting a shift beyond traditional drivers of cost and reliability
“We see AI and cloud computing driving explosive growth in data center demand, and power availability remains the major bottleneck,” said Aman Joshi, Bloom Energy’s Chief Commercial Officer. “The 2025 Data Center Power Report reveals that a growing number of data center leaders are turning to onsite power as a primary energy source. This underscores what we’re hearing from customers: they feel the urgency to address economic imperatives while ensuring reliable, scalable energy solutions.” Joshi noted that customers emphasized developing onsite power arrangements in close collaboration with utilities.
According to survey participants, access to power is expected to get more challenging. Public announcements of onsite power deployments have grown rapidly and indicate growth across technologies including fuel cells, which are gaining traction.
A copy of the Bloom Energy Data Center Power report is available here.