“Musk warns of AI-related power shortages! The world is witnessing a surge in grid construction, and coordinated efforts in energy management are creating investment opportunities.”
A global wave of grid construction is emerging, and the expansion of AI computing power faces supply bottlenecks.
With the rapid development of the artificial intelligence industry, global power supply has become a key bottleneck restricting the expansion of computing power. At the G20 summit on September 1, Elon Musk warned that by 2027, the AI chip industry is expected to face a power gap of at least 15 gigawatts. Data shows that the production of AI chips is growing at a rate of 40% to 50%, while the annual growth rate of power supply in regions outside China is only 10% to 20%, exacerbating the imbalance between supply and demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that after U.S. electricity consumption set a record in 2025, it will continue to reach new highs in 2026 and 2027; the proportion of data centers in U.S. electricity demand is expected to increase from the current 5% to three times that by 2035, with construction progress being severely delayed. Against this backdrop of shortages, global grid construction has accelerated. The three major regional grid operators in the U.S. have been approved for $75 billion in power transmission expansion projects, and Korean companies have also prepaid large amounts of money for expanding infrastructure such as their bases in Gyeongju and Hunan, indicating opportunities for coordinated investment in the energy sector.
10% to 20%Annual growth rate of power supply outside China
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AnthropicBuffettEIAGoogleMicrosoftMuskSpaceXU.S. Energy Information Administration
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A global wave of grid construction is emerging, and the expansion of AI computing power faces supply bottlenecks.
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2026-09-05
Musk warns of AI-related power shortages
During the G20 summit, Musk warned that in 2027, the AI chip industry will face at least 15 gigawatts of power shortage. The growth rate of AI chip production reaches 40% to 50%, while the growth rate of power supply outside China is only 10% to 20%, exacerbating the imbalance between supply and demand.
Musk expects that by 2027, AI chips may face a power shortage of at least 15 gigawatts, and power supply has become a bottleneck restricting the expansion of AI computing power in the United States. As the production of AI chips increases by 40%-50%, while the power growth in regions outside China is only 10%-20%, the imbalance between supply and demand worsens. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that in 2026 and 2027, U.S. power consumption will set new historical records. Data centers account for only 5% of U.S. power demand, but it is expected to triple by 2035, with construction progress severely lagging behind – in just the first quarter, about $130 billion worth of data center projects in the U.S. were delayed due to power supply bottlenecks and public opposition.
Against the backdrop of power shortages, grid construction has become a global consensus. The three major regional grid operators in the U.S. have received approval for $75 billion in transmission expansion projects, focusing on building 765-kilovolt ultra-high-voltage lines, with transmission capacity six times that of traditional lines, and the total length will expand to 10,000 miles. South Korea's power company has prepaid 25 trillion won (about 123.8 billion yuan) in electricity bills for Samsung and SK Hynix over the next five years, to be used for construction in Yeongnam and Hunhwang...
Musk warned of an AI power gap! The world is witnessing a surge in grid construction, and coordinated efforts in energy management are creating investment opportunities.
According to the “Sci-Tech Innovation Daily” on September 5 (editor: Song Ziqiao), the rapid development of AI is creating unprecedented electricity demands, and global grids urgently need expansion and upgrading. At the G20 summit on September 1, Musk warned that the AI industry is facing power supply shortages. He predicted that by 2027, AI chips may face a power gap of at least 15 gigawatts, due to a growth rate of around 40% to 50% in AI chip production, while power supply growth outside China is only 10% to 20% per year. He also pointed out that companies like Google and Anthropic rent computing power from SpaceX because SpaceX has built its own power generation facilities.
Musk’s concerns are not unfounded. Latest data shows that power supply has become a “ceiling” restricting the expansion of AI computing power in the United States. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) clearly stated in its latest short-term energy outlook (STEO) that after setting an annual record for electricity consumption in the U.S. for the second consecutive year in 2025, the demand for AI computing power will continue to rise…