An announcement of a 1,000 MW campus sounds dramatic, but the number might describe a future connection, a completed campus at maximum load, or the computers alone. Current consumption could be a fraction of the announced capacity. Power is demand at a particular moment; energy is the total used over time. The distinction matters when someone tries to connect a facility announcement to household bills.
The more useful figures are the site's current metered peak demand, annual consumption and the schedule of future expansion. We also need to know whether those numbers include cooling and other building systems. Utility connection agreements and regulatory filings can tell us whether additional substations, power plants or transmission lines are necessary, and who is expected to pay.
Our research should compare a site's commissioning dates with local utility tariffs, fuel prices and the cost of network upgrades. A large new customer may pay its own connection costs, or broader system costs may be shared under regulated tariffs. The facility's nameplate capacity alone cannot establish which happened.
These explainers separate announced plans, recorded outcomes and unresolved questions. Find individual facility sources and submit corrections in the Observatory.
General background: IEA, Energy and AI. For site-specific claims, consult each facility's source records.