As land and power grow more limited, data centers are expanding into new markets outside the long-established global hub in northern Virginia. The electric grid that serves Virginia is facing looming reliability problems, with power demand expected to surge while supply falls due to the retirement of coal- and some natural gas-powered plants. Renewable energy alone won't be sufficient to meet their power needs, and natural gas will have to play a role, which will slow progress toward meeting carbon dioxide emissions targets.
Key takeaways:
- The power needs of artificial intelligence and cloud computing are growing so large that individual data center campuses could soon use more electricity than some cities, and even entire U.S. states.
- Data centers are now at a scale where they have started "tapping out against the existing utility infrastructure," and the availability of suitable land for these facilities is becoming more constrained.
- Data center campuses are expanding into new markets outside the long-established global hub in northern Virginia due to looming reliability problems with the electric grid that serves Virginia.
- Renewable energy alone won't be sufficient to meet the power needs of these data centers. Natural gas will have to play a role, which will slow progress toward meeting carbon dioxide emissions targets.