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24
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Updated 4 hours ago
StaleMar 24, 23, 5:16 PM UTCDec 31, 30, 12:00 PM UTC
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Related questions for context, not a comparison of equivalent contracts.
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PolymarketRules
From https://metaculus.com//questions/15610/data-centres-10-of-global-electricity/ Based on a recent report by the [IEA](https://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks), demand for digital services has experienced rapid growth, with internet users and traffic more than doubling and expanding 20-fold since 2010, respectively.
- Data centres and data transmission networks account for around 1-1.5% of global electricity use, with energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy adoption mitigating the energy demand.
- Data centres and transmission networks contributed 0.9% of energy-related GHG emissions in 2020.
- Although global data centre energy use (excluding crypto) has grown only moderately due to efficiency improvements in some regions, smaller countries have seen rapid growth.
- Data transmission network energy efficiency has also improved rapidly.
- See below for the IEA table summarising the change between 2015 and 2021 for relevant metrics, with ‘Data centre energy use (excluding crypto)’ being the main indicator of relevance for this question. | Indicator | 2015 | 2021 | Change | |-----------------------------------------------|-----------|--------------|-----------------| | Internet users | 3 billion | 4.9 billion | +60% | | Internet traffic | 0.6 ZB | 3.4 ZB | +440% | | Data centre workloads | 180 million | 650 million | +260% | | **Data centre energy use (excluding crypto)** | 200 TWh | **220-320 TWh** | +10-60% | | Crypto mining energy use | 4 TWh | 100-140 TWh | +2,300-3,300% | | Data transmission network energy use | 220 TWh | 260-340 TWh | +20-60% | In Ireland, data centres already consumed 14% of the country’s electricity in 2021, according to the [Central Statistics Office](https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-dcmec/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2021/).