Data centers may be 'wild card' for gas demand

The propagation of data centers in coming years could lead to a huge increase in daily natural gas demand, industry forecasters say, with one projecting up to 30 Bcf/d (850mn m³) in higher demand.

Data centers represent a "global wild card" that could increase gas demand by 3-30 Bcf/d in coming years to satisfy the facilities' needs for consistent air conditioning and power, energy infrastructure company Tallgrass director of analytics Robert Applegate told participants at the Midcontinent LDC Gas Forum in Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday.

Financial services firm Macquarie head of economics David Doyle said power demand from data processing centers is a "theme that's not going away".

Gas market consultancy East Daley Analytics senior director Jack Weixel projects the US will need 20GW of combined cycle units to handle the increase in power demand generated by data centers, with cities like Phoenix and Chicago requiring more gas to accommodate the growth of data centers.

The panelists' views were largely aligned with the current discussion within the natural gas sector about the effects of data centers.

Canadian pipeline company TC Energy chief operating officer Stan Chapman has projected that 300 new data centers would need between 45-50GW of power to run, while gas producer EQT's most aggressive scenario predicted an 18 Bcf/d increase to meet data center electrical demand.

By Anna Muthalaly