Since 2010, the number of internet users worldwide has more than doubled. As more people go online for work, school, gaming, Google, and more, the number of data centers that help keep the web running quickly and efficiently is growing.
“Digitizing the economy is a good thing, but it requires a lot of electricity,” said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives. “We're not keeping up with that demand in terms of increasing supply in this country. But I don't think we're going to go back.”
A data center is a facility that houses the IT infrastructure for running, building, and delivering applications. Some companies may have an in-house data center. Some companies use cloud computing locations, often shared by multiple customers.
“They're incredibly energy-intensive. They require a lot of electricity to operate,” said Neil Chatterjee, former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “We're starting to see a concentration of people in these data centers in many parts of the country.”
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With the proliferation of data centers, server rooms are impacting the power grid. ((George Rose/Getty Images))
Companies such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and IBM Cloud operate what are known as hyperscale data centers. These are the largest types of service providers and their number is growing rapidly.
“There's no question that data centers use a lot of power,” Matheson said. “If supply is limited, costs will go up.”
Data centers account for approximately 2% of total electricity usage in the United States. Hyperscale can power the equivalent of 80,000 homes. Of the approximately 8,000 data centers around the world, 900 are hyperscale. These account for 37% of the capacity.
“They are injecting demand into the power grid, and some utilities are creating ancillary jobs not just from power-hungry data centers, but around them, to accurately predict spikes in demand. This will contribute to the growth of housing.”
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Google Cloud is one of the companies operating hyperscale centers. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
The largest U.S. markets for hyperscale data centers are Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Northern Virginia. Virginia is home to approximately 35% of all known hyperscale data centers.
“We need to put more load on the lines, so any region that has good transmission can handle that to some extent,” Matheson said. This means that each transmission line has a limited capacity and the amount of power that can be installed is limited. ”
The Virginia state government and some local governments offer tax exemptions on computer equipment purchased by facilities. That led to a rapid increase in construction in the area.
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Amazon Web Services also operates hyperscale centers. (Beata Saursel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Power companies will need to build a lot of transmission equipment to deliver that power over long distances,” Chatterjee said. “They didn't accurately predict the huge spike in demand that would occur with these data centers operating at full capacity, and were concerned about potential power cuts if they were unable to provide that power. doing.”
Many hyperscale providers are also starting to fund renewable energy projects as the region faces rising prices due to energy supply shortages. But experts say more reliable infrastructure is needed to keep data centers online.
“Data centers run 24/7, but as I know the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day. So to provide a lot of power to these data centers , we need power generation available at all times,” Matheson said. . “Well, renewable energy can be part of the portfolio, but it’s never going to be a large part of the portfolio.”
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The number of internet users around the world has more than doubled since 2010. (Getty Images)
High energy costs in data centers are often caused by efforts to keep equipment hot enough to operate. To address these costs and energy usage, some companies are setting up data centers in the Arctic. The cool climate keeps machines functioning with natural air and reduces energy usage.
“The reality is, if you look at where the significant future capacity for clean energy is, it's in rural areas where there isn't a lot of power demand,” Chatterjee said. “We need to review our existing generation fleet and make sure we are not prematurely retiring generation sources that need to stay lit before replacements are ready.”
