China's AI Data Center Renewable Energy Push Faces Operational Hurdles; 2026-2030 Demand Seen Rising 300-500 Billion kWh

According to Reuters, on June 22 China's AI data center renewable energy target faces mounting operational challenges. Beijing's March 2025 policy requires newly built national-hub data centers to source 80% of electricity from renewables by 2030. According to State Power Investment Corp executive Pei Shanpeng, data-center electricity demand could surge 300 billion to 500 billion kilowatt-hours from 2026 to 2030, accounting for 18% of China's total electricity-demand growth over that period.

Industry experts cite two major obstacles: AI-focused data centers offer minimal flexibility in shifting GPU-heavy workloads, and grid operators resist direct green-power arrangements, fearing lower electricity sales and inability to recover transmission investments.