The International Energy Agency expects AI’s energy consumption to skyrocket, but it still pointed the finger at crypto as an over-consumer.
The world electricity market is undergoing profound changes as the industry leads the way in decarbonization and faces new consumption patterns. Cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to see big shifts in energy usage in coming years, according to the multinational intergovernmental International Energy Agency (IEA).
Not all the news about power consumption is bad, according to the IEA’s 2024 report, which forecasts usage through 2026. “Power generation is currently the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the world, but it is also the sector leading the transition to net zero emissions,” the report said. Renewables will become the main sources of power in 2025.
The growth of consumption fell from 2.4% in 2022 to 2.2% in 2023 but is expected to rise to 3.4% through 2026. China and India will be major contributors to that growth.
