Federal agency launches study of AI data center energy use

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has initiated a pilot survey to assess the energy consumption of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers across the United States. The study targets 196 companies operating data centers in three key regions: Texas, Washington state, and the Northern Virginia–Washington, D.C. area. These companies collectively manage 1,066 data centers, with 429 in Texas, 134 in Washington state, and 503 in Virginia and Washington, D.C. EIA's methodology for this voluntary survey includes web-based questionnaires for companies in Texas and Washington, and in-person interviews for those in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. The survey, which takes approximately 15 minutes, requests data on various aspects of data center operations, including infrastructure characteristics, energy sources, electricity consumption, site details, server metrics, and cooling systems. The agency plans to send email invitations and follow-up reminders, including telephone calls, to maximize response rates for the Texas portion of the survey, aiming for at least 215 responses. This initiative is part of EIA's broader efforts to gather data on the nation's evolving energy sector, which has previously included pilot studies on critical minerals such as graphite, vanadium, and zirconium, and early-stage planning for studies in other energy areas like the nuclear sector. The goal is to better understand and quantify the growing energy demands of AI-driven facilities.