Russia's datacenter capacity set to grow 2.4-fold to 4.3 GW by 2030, deputy PM says

Lead

Russia's installed datacenter capacity is projected to grow 2.4-fold by 2030, from the current 1.8 GW to 4.3 GW, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak in an article published in the Energy Policy magazine, as reported by TASS. Novak highlighted that power consumption by Russian datacenters rises by about 18% annually, and that Moscow and the Moscow Region account for roughly 80% of all operating datacenters.

In a separate TASS report, Novak wrote that global datacenter power consumption could reach 110 GW by 2030, with datacenters' share of global energy consumption rising to 3% — comparable to sectors such as metallurgy and agriculture. The total connected capacity of all datacenters worldwide currently stands at 62 GW, with an annual growth rate of approximately 15%.

Coverage comparison

The TASS reports present two complementary views. One focuses on the national outlook, citing Novak's forecast for Russian capacity growth and the concentration of datacenters around Moscow. Another broadens the scope to global trends, noting the rising share of datacenters in worldwide energy use. A third report, citing the System Operator organization, details the current state of datacenters and mining centers connected to Russia's energy system, which reached 4.2 GW as of April 2025.

All three reports originate from TASS, the Russian state news agency. The national report emphasizes Russia's competitive advantage in datacenter development due to diversified energy sources, while the global report stresses the importance of affordable and reliable energy for countries' competitiveness in the high-tech sphere. The System Operator report is more technical, focusing on capacity figures and consumption shares.

Key claims

• Russian capacity growth: Novak said installed capacity will grow from 1.8 GW in 2025 to 4.3 GW by 2030, a 2.4-fold increase. This figure applies to datacenters "designed for performing useful computations." The report also noted that power consumption by datacenters in Russia increases by about 18% each year.

• Geographic concentration: Moscow and the Moscow Region account for about 80% of operating datacenters, with St. Petersburg as the second cluster at 7%. Novak also listed promising regions including Leningrad, Tver, Smolensk, Kursk, Tomsk, Sverdlovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Amur, and Khakassia.

• Investor demand: The largest investors — Sberbank, Yandex, Rostelecom, and Rosatom — will collectively require approximately 2 GW of capacity by 2030, according to Novak. A government working group on datacenter power supply is coordinating the process.

• Global consumption: Novak projected average datacenter power consumption could rise to 110 GW by 2030, and their share of global energy consumption could increase from 1.5% in 2024 to 3%. He cited the Datacenters Association, which counts about 11,800 datacenters worldwide, roughly half in the United States.

• Russia's connected capacity: The System Operator reported that the connected capacity of datacenters, including mining, reached 4.2 GW as of April 2025. The share of datacenters in Russia's total power consumption structure doubled over three years, from 1.4% in 2022 to 2.2% in 2025, and is forecast to grow to 2.4%.

• Future consumption: The System Operator forecasts that the total volume of consumed power of high-technology computation centers may reach 15.3 GW over the next five years. Earlier data from the System Operator, reported by TASS, put the capacity of miners and datacenters connected to networks at 4 GW in 2025, up 33.3% from 2024.

• Energy as competitiveness factor: Novak argued that the ability of countries to provide the digital economy with affordable and reliable energy will be the foundation of global competitiveness. He warned that a lack of specific regulation could lead to grid overloads, power shortages, and reduced electricity affordability for other consumers. "The task is to strike a balance between the technological breakthrough and the reliability of the power supply," he said.

Perspectives

Russian government

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak frames datacenter growth as an opportunity that requires careful balancing with energy system reliability. He highlights Russia's diversified energy sources as a competitive advantage and calls for open dialogue among market participants to avoid conflicts between technological progress and the real sector.

System Operator

The System Operator, Russia's grid operator, provides operational data on connected capacity and consumption shares. Its reporting focuses on the measurable impact of datacenters on the power system, noting the doubling of their share in consumption over three years and projecting further growth.