内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/01/rising-energy-prices-put-ai-and-data-centers-in-the-crosshairs/

内容总结：

【调查显示：美国民众担忧人工智能热潮推高电费】随着科技公司纷纷宣布新建大型数据中心计划，最新调查显示，越来越多消费者担心这场由人工智能驱动的"淘金热"将最终转嫁为高昂的电费账单。

太阳能安装商Sunrun委托开展的调查报告显示，高达80%的消费者对数据中心可能导致的电费上涨表示忧虑。这种担忧并非空穴来风——美国能源信息署数据显示，过去五年间，数据中心与工业用户的用电量年增长率分别达2.6%和2.1%，远超居民用电0.7%的增速。劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室研究指出，当前全美4%的电力被数据中心消耗，这一比例较2018年翻番，预计到2028年可能攀升至6.7%-12%。

为应对激增的用电需求，太阳能、风能及电网级储能项目正加速建设。科技巨头尤其青睐成本低、模块化且供电迅速的大型太阳能项目，这类电站可在建设期间就向数据中心供电，建设周期通常仅需18个月。尽管可再生能源在未来一年仍将主导新增发电能力，但专家预测，若《降低通胀法案》关键条款被废除，可再生能源发展将受阻。

与此同时，数据中心偏好的另一种能源——天然气也面临供应困境。虽然产量增长，但新增供应主要流向出口市场，2019至2024年间发电用气仅增长20%，而出口消费量激增140%。新建天然气电厂需时四年，燃气轮机交货周期更长达七年，进一步加剧了能源供需矛盾。

分析指出，在天然气建设迟滞与可再生能源发展受制的双重压力下，数据中心开发商正陷入困境。尽管工业用户用电需求同样旺盛，但人工智能领域最易引发公众质疑。皮尤调查显示，对AI技术持担忧态度者远超期待者，特别是在企业将AI作为裁员工具的背景下，电费上涨可能成为引发社会反弹的导火索。

中文翻译：

随着科技公司纷纷宣布新建大型数据中心的计划，消费者日益担忧这场人工智能驱动的淘金热将最终推高电价——这项最新调查结果揭示了公众的普遍忧虑。

太阳能安装商Sunrun委托开展的调查报告显示，高达80%的消费者担心数据中心会导致家庭电费上涨。这种担忧并非空穴来风。

美国能源信息署数据显示，全美电力需求曾保持十余年平稳态势。但过去五年间，包括数据中心在内的商业用户用电量年均增长2.6%，工业用户增长2.1%，而居民用电增幅仅为0.7%。当前全美发电量的4%被数据中心消耗，较2018年占比翻番。劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室预测，到2028年该数字将攀升至6.7%-12%。

值得庆幸的是，太阳能、风能及电网级储能项目的产能激增暂时满足了用电需求。科技巨头尤其青睐公用事业级太阳能项目，因其具备成本低廉、模块化部署及快速供电等优势。太阳能电站甚至在建成前就能向数据中心供电，新项目建设周期通常仅需18个月左右。

美国能源信息署预计可再生能源至少在未来一年仍将主导新增发电产能。这一趋势原本可能持续至2026年以后，但专家预测若共和党废除《通胀削减法案》关键条款，将阻碍可再生能源发展。

与此同时，数据中心运营商青睐的另一能源——天然气却未能及时跟进。虽然产量持续增长，但新增供应主要流向出口而非国内市场。2019至2024年间，发电用天然气消费量增长20%，而出口商消费量激增140%。

国际能源署指出，新建天然气电厂需时四年无法解燃眉之急，燃气轮机订单积压更令局势雪上加霜。制造商给出的交货周期长达七年，新宣布的产能计划也难解当下困局。

天然气建设迟滞与可再生能源发展受挫，使数据中心开发商陷入两难境地。

虽然工业用户用电需求增长几乎与数据中心持平，但人工智能与数据中心始终占据新闻头条。皮尤研究中心调查显示，对人工智能技术持担忧态度的人数远超期待者——这并不意外，毕竟众多企业将其作为裁员工具而非提升员工效能的利器。

当能源价格持续上涨与公众焦虑相互叠加，反对人工智能过度发展的声浪或许正在酝酿。

英文来源：

As tech companies tout their plans for massive new data centers, consumers are increasingly worried the AI-driven gold rush will ultimately drive up the price they pay for electricity, according to a new survey.
The report, commissioned by solar installer Sunrun, found that 80% of consumers are worried about the impact of data centers on their utility bills.
Consumers’ concerns aren’t unfounded.
Electricity demand in the United States held steady for over a decade, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Over the last five years, commercial users including data centers and industrial users began drinking more deeply from the grid, with annual growth rising 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, residential use only grew by 0.7% annually.
Data centers today consume about 4% of the electricity generated in the United States, more than double their share in 2018. By 2028, consumption is forecasted to rise to 6.7% to 12%, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Generation has managed to meet demand thanks to a surge in new capacity from solar, wind, and grid-scale battery storage. Big tech companies have been inking large deals for new utility-scale solar, in particular, attracted by the energy source’s low cost, modularity, and speed to power. Solar farms can start delivering power to data centers before they’re completed, and a new project typically takes around 18 months to complete.
The EIA expects renewables to dominate new generating capacity through at least the next year. The trend likely would have extended beyond 2026, but experts predict a Republican repeal of key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act will hamper the renewables’ growth.
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Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector.
Meanwhile, natural gas, another source of energy favored by data center operators, hasn’t met the moment. Production has been rising, but most of the new supplies have gone toward feeding exports rather than the domestic market. Consumption by electricity generators rose by 20% between 2019 and 2024, while exporters consumed 140% more.
New natural gas power plants won’t be ready in time, either, since they take around four years to complete, according to the International Energy Agency. A backlog of turbines used by gas-fired power plants has only compounded the problem. Manufacturers are quoting delivery dates up to seven years out, and newly announced production capacity is unlikely to change things.
Slow natural gas buildouts coupled with kneecapped renewables have put data center developers in a bind.
While AI and data centers aren’t entirely responsible for increasing electricity demand — industrial users have been nearly as thirsty — they’ve been leading the headlines.
AI is likely to be the focus of consumers’ ire: More people are concerned about the technology than excited about it, according to a Pew survey. No surprise given that many employers have been wielding the tool as a way to cut headcount rather than improve augment employee productivity.
Throw rising energy prices into the mix, and you can begin to see how a backlash might be brewing.