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Power by the Numbers: Understanding Energy Capacity
Powering Modern Life: What does it take to power our world today? How much energy is needed to sustain modern life?
From powering a city to the lights of stadiums to hyperscale data centers, our infrastructure depends on a constant—and growing—electricity supply. As cities become smarter, homes become more connected, and technologies become more advanced, the scale of energy demand continues to rise. But how much power does it really take to keep modern life running?
Modern Infrastructure Demand
- A single U.S. home draws, on average, about 0.00133 megawatts (MW)—or 1.33 kilowatts (kW)—at any given time.
- An NFL stadium on game day consumes 5 to 10 MW to power field lighting, massive screens, broadcast equipment, HVAC, concessions, and more.
- A mid-sized city like Santa Monica, California, reaches a peak electricity demand of 70–80 MW.
- A hyperscale data center, especially one running artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing workloads, can require 100 to 150+ MW of continuous power. Some centers already exceed 200 MW.
- Globally, the Bitcoin network consumes over 15,000 MW—or 15 gigawatts (GW)—of electricity, roughly twice the total power demand of a country like Greece, which averages around 7–8 GW.
These numbers reveal how vital—and vast—energy infrastructure has become in every part of modern life.
Renewable Energy is Rising to the Challenge
From rooftop systems to grid-scale solar farms, battery storage, and EV charging networks, renewable energy is rapidly becoming the backbone of tomorrow’s grid.
Built to Power
In a world where a single stadium can require 10 MW and a data center 150, how does infrastructure scale to meet that demand?
In 2024, BEI Construction was involved in clean energy projects totaling about 550 MW of installed capacity. To put that in perspective, it’s not just a technical milestone; it’s a measure of real-world impact.
This amount of energy could power more than 410,000 U.S. homes for an entire year. That’s roughly equivalent to supplying the electricity needs of twice the population of Oakland, CA, or the entire city of Santa Monica nearly seven times over. It’s also enough to light up over 100 NFL stadiums simultaneously—or run five to six hyperscale data centers nonstop.
On the environmental front, that level of solar capacity has the potential to prevent over 149,000 metric tons of carbon emissions every year, according to EPA equivalency estimates.
Looking Ahead: Scaling with Purpose
As electricity demand accelerates—driven by electrification, AI, EV growth, and urban expansion—the question isn’t just how much energy we need, but how intelligently we can deliver it.
The numbers from 2024 show what’s possible when infrastructure meets intention. Projects that once seemed ambitious are now essential. And the work BEI supported last year forms part of a much larger solution—creating systems that are cleaner, smarter, and ready for the future.
From school campuses to commercial centers and public infrastructure, the megawatts of today are laying the foundation for a more resilient tomorrow.