Artificial intelligence, data and energy demand

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Artificial intelligence brings a further, less visible pressure: the demand for data centres and electricity. Large language models and other applications require computing capacity on a scale that has driven a global boom in the construction of data centres. Switzerland has attracted some of these investments, with the result that the electricity consumption of its data centres rose by almost a fifth between 2019 and 2024.¹ The canton of Zug, with its limited space and high land prices, is not a natural location for large data centres. Its companies nonetheless depend on computing capacity, including a crypto industry that has always been closely linked to questions of energy consumption.

The electricity supply of Switzerland has become a political issue. The country imports electricity in winter and faces the phase-out of its nuclear power plants over the coming decades. While voters approved a law in June 2024 to expand renewable energy production, the debate about new nuclear plants has reopened.² For the companies of Zug, a reliable and affordable electricity supply is a condition of their operations. For the commodity traders, the European power and gas markets are also a field of business. The energy question thus links the canton's economic future to national decisions that it cannot control.

Notes

Swiss Federal Office of Energy, study on the electricity consumption and efficiency potential of data centres, press release of 7 May 2026, admin.ch: data centres used 2.1 TWh in 2024 (about 3.6 per cent of Swiss consumption), 18 per cent more than in 2019, with 2.5 to 3.2 TWh projected for 2030; Switzerland has no dedicated facilities for training large language models. Federal Act on a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energy Sources (Mantelerlass) approved on 9 June 2024 with 68.72 per cent Yes (Swissvotes, vote no. 670, swissvotes.ch). ↩
Federal Council, press release "Initiative «Blackout stoppen» – Bundesrat verabschiedet Botschaft zum indirekten Gegenvorschlag", 13 August 2025, admin.ch: the Federal Council rejects the initiative and proposes, as an indirect counter-proposal, an amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act that lifts the ban on general licences for new nuclear power plants; consultation from December 2024 to April 2025. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

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Artificial intelligence, data and energy demand

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?