Google's 2025 Power Use Jumps 37%, Emissions 18%, on AI Buildout

Google disclosed in its 2026 Environmental Report that the expansion of data centers and AI infrastructure pushed its electricity consumption up 37% year over year in fiscal 2025, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions up 18%, and water use up 34% to 10.9 billion gallons — all among the largest increases the company has recorded. As reported by Axios on June 30, 2026, the surging demand for AI training and inference, plus infrastructure growth, is offsetting environmental gains the company had built up over years.