No. 1014 - Powering the digital economy: the global expansion of data centres and its energy implications
The paper analyses the global expansion of data centres and its implications for electricity consumption. Using facility-level data, the study documents the evolution of the number, computing capacity, and geographic distribution of data centres; it also provides estimates of the aggregate electricity demand associated with data centres in the United States and Europe.
The data centre market has experienced strong growth over the past fifteen years, accompanied by an increasing concentration of computing capacity in large scale facilities, predominantly operated by U.S. firms. Overall, their electricity consumption remains limited, but in some areas their share of local demand is significant, with potential effects on electricity prices and risks of network congestion. These dynamics raise policy questions in the areas of energy, industrial policy, and strategic autonomy.
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