As technicians scrambled to upgrade power lines in Villiers, a rural town in South Africa’s Free State province, global leaders thousands of kilometers away were sounding the alarm over an increasingly urgent issue: the growing electricity demands of artificial intelligence.
Speaking at a press conference during the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the AI industry — now at the forefront of innovation — risks becoming a major climate liability unless immediate steps are taken to shift toward renewable energy.
“The growth is exponential. A single AI data center today can consume as much power as 100,000 homes,” Guterres said. “By 2030, these centers could be drawing as much electricity as the entire country of Japan uses right now.”
The warning comes amid a tech boom that has seen companies racing to develop more powerful AI models — and the infrastructure needed to support them.
That infrastructure, mainly massive server farms called data centers, is proving to be voracious in its energy needs.
Back in South Africa, the picture is equally complex. Workers from Rural Free State, a private electricity distributor, were seen conducting maintenance on May 10 just outside the town of Frankfort.
It’s a glimpse into the broader challenge: aging grids struggling to meet rising demand, not just from residents but increasingly from data services and tech infrastructure.
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Guterres’s message was clear: the tech industry must lead the way. “I’m calling on every major tech firm to commit to powering their data centers with 100% renewable energy by 2030,” he said.
While the Secretary-General acknowledged that AI could itself play a role in streamlining energy usage and building more efficient grids, he cautioned that this opportunity comes with a responsibility. “AI can help — but it must not harm in the process.”
A new UN report backs up the urgency. Data centers already account for 1.5% of global electricity usage. That figure is expected to more than double within the next five years.
“This is not sustainable,” Guterres said. “Unless we make it so.”
For communities like Villiers, still working to ensure stable electricity for households and farms, the question is no longer just about access — it’s about the future of power itself.