Taiwan expects power demand to increase by more than 5GW by 2030, enough to power nearly 4 million homes — rise in electricity consumption driven by semiconductor manufacturing and AI data center deployments

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Taiwan is facing a new challenge in its goal to retain its advantage in AI and advanced semiconductor manufacturing — crucial for maintaining its silicon shield — as it grapples with a tightening power supply. Electricity demand is rising sharply as Taiwanese tech companies build semiconductor manufacturing facilities alongside AI data centers. According to Digitimes, both the AI and semiconductor industries could add about 5 GW of demand — enough to power upwards of 3.75 million homes — by 2030, roughly a gigawatt of additional load per year through the end of the decade.

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This expansion, fueled by increasing global demand for the most advanced AI chips, is putting even more pressure on the island’s grid. Taipower chairperson Wen‑sheng Tseng notes that each wafer fab needs around 200 MW to operate, suggesting that the multiple facilities planned for and being built around the island will demand 5.3 – 5.4 GW of electricity. This does not count the other plants and factories needed to support the operation of these factories, so the power demand could be higher than projected. Nevertheless, four new electricity‑generating gas units are set to come online this year, with an additional 5.2 GW expected to enter trials soon. The company is also working to beef up Taiwan’s grid and enhance resilience plans, ensuring that the island’s power supply can keep up with the demand, particularly from science parks and industrial zones.

Despite that, Taipower warns that demand is also increasing outside of these areas. Some fabs and servers are setting up facilities beyond the designated sectors, sometimes requesting up to 20 % of the power consumption of a science park for a single structure. Tseng says that both fabs and tech companies should be careful when selecting sites for future infrastructure, ensuring they are built where there is ample power supply to avoid bottlenecks.

Even though Taiwan’s power utility is warning about consumption, it seems on track to cover the future growth of the AI and semiconductor industry, provided current projections hold. This contrasts with the U.S., where the White House is forcing big‑tech companies to promise payment for grid and power source upgrades needed for AI data centers.