STO Well positioned, page-542

Another article outlining the significant growth In Data Centres & AI will require a major boost in the electrical power grid. This will benefit STO, as many electricity power stations are gas-fired- thus gas prices will eventually rise.

Data Centre Magazine A. Jackson 24.1.24 said
(Ignore the heading written by a by the dopey Sub-Editor- Global Electricity demand will certainly NOT double in the 2 years to 2026!)

"As AI and other new technologies continue to be in high demand worldwide, the data centres that facilitate this growth will DOUBLE their electricity consumption in just TWO (my emphases) years.

TheInternational Energy Agency(IEA) hasforecastwhat energy demand could look like between 2024 and 2026. It has revealed that, whilst global electricity demand rose considerably in 2023, it is set to grow at a much faster pace in the next two years...

Global electricity demand continues rising in line with AI

With AI expected to consumeas much electricity as a medium-sized country, the technology could pose severe challenges to data centres, as they battle to meet growing customer needs.

Global demand for electricity grew 2.2% in 2023, according to the IEA, with countries such as The People’s Republic of China and India experiencing transformative digital growth. Over the next three years (2024-2026), the need for electricity is set to grow by an annual average of 3.4%, which the IEA puts down to economic outlooks improving in both advanced and emerging economies.

Particularly in locations like China, electricity demand will be supported by the ongoing electrification of residential and transport sectors, as well as notable expansions of the data centre sector. China has already seen huge growth in its data centre capabilities, having recentlylaunched its first underwater data centrein order to deploy innovative cooling solutions and increase overall energy efficiencies".

AI Boom Will Cause Data Centre Electricity Demand to Double | Data Centre Magazine