Data Centres & the Energy Industry

Data Centres & the Energy Industry: A High-Stakes Relationship

Data centres are regularly referred to amongst Energy Considered's opinion leaders and our tracking has revealed that conversations generated have spiked in 2024 and 2023. The sector is regularly creating a buzz because data centres are increasingly the enabler behind developments from cloud computing to artificial intelligence. They are growing exponentially to meet our needs but they are energy-hungry, due to the energy-intensive nature of data centre operations.

Already data centres account for approximately 1-2% of global electricity consumption; data centre power requirements grew from 4.9GW in 2022 to 7.4GW in 2023 and are increasing faster every year. So the growth story is also one of electricity demand, sustainability and environmental impact.

Data centres’ impact of the energy industry is immense. Operators are giving consideration to new options such as on-site nuclear power plants or integrated renewables, but in the meantime, data centres raise electricity demand and strain local networks, while their carbon footprint remains a concern. 

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