LONDON: Europe’s data centre power consumption is expected to nearly triple by 2030, requiring a significant increase in electricity supply, predominantly from low-carbon sources, as well as major grid infrastructure upgrades, according to a McKinsey report.
Investment in data centres has surged in recent years as digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) have gained momentum. This growth raises questions about how countries can meet the expected rise in electricity demand generated by the increasing number of large data centres. While much of the data centre growth will occur in the United States, other regions like China and Europe will also see significant increases in data centre installations, according to the International Energy Agency.
In Europe, which includes the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, and Britain, total IT load demand for data centres is projected to rise from 10 gigawatts (GW) today to around 35 GW by 2030, according to the McKinsey report.
Europe’s data centre power consumption is expected to nearly triple to over 150 terawatt hours (TWh) by the end of the decade, up from around 62 TWh today.
By 2030, data centres are forecasted to account for about 5 per cent of Europe’s total electricity consumption, compared to around 2 per cent today. Meeting this demand will require at least $250-300 billion in data centre infrastructure investment, excluding power generation capacity.
"Meeting the rise in electricity demand will require an extensive increase in electricity supply; a notable shift for Europe, where aggregate power demand has remained relatively stagnant since 2007," the McKinsey report said. — Reuters
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