The rapid rise of data centers has put many power industry demand forecasters on edge. Some predict the power-hungry nature of the facilities will quickly create problems for utilities and the grid. ICIS, a data analytics provider, calculates that in 2024, demand from data centers in Europe accounted for 96 TWh, or 3.1% of total power demand. 
“Now, you could say it’s not a lot—3%—it’s just a marginal size, but I’m going to spice it up a bit with two additional layers,” Matteo Mazzoni, director of Energy Analytics at ICIS, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “One is: that power demand is very consolidated in just a small subset of countries. So, five countries account of over 60% of that European power demand. And within those five countries, which are the usual suspects in terms of Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, and Netherlands, half of that consumption is located in the FLAP-D market, which sounds like a fancy new coffee, but in reality is just five big cities: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin.”
Predicting where and how data center demand will grow in the future is challenging, however, especially when looking out more than a few years. “What we’ve tried to do with our research is to divide it into two main time frames,” Mazzoni explained. “The next three to five years, where we see our forecast being relatively accurate because we looked at the development of new data centers, where they are being built, and all the information that are currently available. And, then, what might happen past 2030, which is a little bit more uncertain given how fast technology is developing and all that is happening on the AI [artificial intelligence] front.”
Based on its research, ICIS expects European data center power demand to grow 75% by 2030, to 168 TWh. “It’s going to be a lot of the same,” Mazzoni predicted. “So, those big centers—those big cities—are still set to attract most of the additional data center consumption, but we see the emergence of also new interesting markets, like the Nordics and to a certain extent also southern Europe with Iberia [especially Spain] being an interesting market.”
Yet, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty around demand projections. Advances in liquid cooling methods will likely reduce data center power usage. That’s because liquid cooling offers more efficient heat dissipation, which translates directly into lower electricity consumption.
Additionally, there are opportunities for further improvement in power usage effectiveness (PUE), which is a widely used data center energy efficiency metric. At the global level, the average PUE has decreased from 2.5 in 2007 to a current average of 1.56, according to the ICIS report. However, new facilities consistently achieve a PUE of 1.3 and sometimes much better. Google, which has many state-of-the-art and highly efficient data centers, reported a global average PUE of 1.09 for its facilities over the last year.
Said Mazzoni, “An expert in the field told us when we were doing our research, when tech moves out of the equation and you have energy engineers stepping in, you start to see that a lot of efficiency improvements will come, and demand will inevitably fall.”
Thus, data center load growth projections should be taken with a grain of salt. “The forecast that we have beyond 2030 will need to be revised,” Mazzoni predicted. “If we look at the history of the past 20 years—all analysts and all forecasts around load growth—they all overshoot what eventually happened. The first time it happened when the internet arrived—there was obviously great expectations—and then EVs, electric vehicles, and then heat pumps. But if we look at, for example, last year—2024—European power demand was up by 1.3%, U.S. power demand was up by 1.8%, and probably weather was the main driver behind that growth.”

180. Data Centers Consume 3% of Energy in Europe: Understand Geographic Hotspots and How AI Is Reshaping Demand

We discuss Symbolic AI via LLMs for advanced reasoning in manufacturing and real-time analytics. Key points included leveraging symbolic representations and algebraic equations, utilizing knowledge graphs to improve model accuracy, and exploring agentic AI frameworks with specialized agents working together using swarm intelligence principles to tackle complex problems like anomaly detection and process optimization. The group also discussed the challenges of building trust in AI systems and the importance of capturing and storing questions and answers to build a knowledge base.

Symbolic AI

Une chronique pleine de chiffres qui donnent le tournis sur les investissements en France pour développer l'IA. On peut s'en féliciter ou bien être méga flippé .. 

109 milliards pour l'IA en France, mais d'où vient le pognon ?

Cet épisode est dédié à la couverture de la deuxième édition de l'événement AFRICA DATA CENTERS & CLOUD DAYS (ADCD, https://adcd.tn/ ), qui s'est déroulé les 17 et 18 février 2025 à Hammamet. Nous y avons interviewé Zied Awled Ali, CEO de Safozi et organisateur de l’ADCD.

Le sujet de la discussion : un nouveau business model est en train d’émerger pour les data centers en Afrique, offrant de meilleures opportunités d’exportation vers l’Europe et les États-Unis. Nos data centers sont d’autant plus compétitifs en termes de coûts, à condition d’appliquer les bonnes optimisations.

Retrouvez plus de détails dans cette première partie de notre couverture.
DigiClub IS powered by ooredoo Business et BacPay, première solution de paiement fractionné par TPE.

Animation : Walid Naffati
Producteur : Walid Naffati
Camera : Moez Habbes
Directeur technique : Ghazi Neffati
Réalisation : Dorsaf Kortobi

DigiClub

DigiClub Ep178-Les Data Centers en Tunisie: Un nouveau business model pour mieux s'exporter (Part1)

🏢 Los Data Centers son la columna vertebral del procesamiento e intercambio de información, pero ¿sabías que algunos operan en total secreto? En este episodio exploramos qué son, cómo se construyen, dónde están ubicados y qué información procesan.

Mapa de Data Centers: https://www.datacentermap.com/content/nova/

🎧 Disponible en:
✔️ Spotify
✔️ Apple Podcasts
✔️ Youtube @theorbit.podcast
🔗 Síguenos en Instagram: @theorbit.podcast
📩 Contacto: theorbitpod@gmail.com 

#CentrosDeDatos #BigData #Tecnología #Ciberseguridad #CloudComputing #DataCenterValley #IT #TheOrbitPodcast


Data Centers (Centros de Datos) – Qué Son, Cómo Se Construyen y Por Qué Algunos Son Secretos

Cet épisode est dédié à la couverture de la deuxième édition de l'événement AFRICA DATA CENTERS & CLOUD DAYS (ADCD, adcd.tn), qui s'est déroulé les 17 et 18 février 2025 à Hammamet. Nous y avons interviewé :
- Amir Ben-Gacem, Cofounder & CEO SoleCrypt, qui nous a parlé des raisons de son choix pour lancer un Data Center à Tozeur.
- Lyes Zahaf, Cofounder & General Manager de Shabaket. Commnent cet architecte a pu se spécialisé dans la consruction de Data Centers avec des standars internationaux.
- Fatma Khlif, CEO de CanDo, elle a parlé de la durabilité des Data Centers et pourquoi le marché tunisien n'est pas encore arrivé au seuil critique pour devenir une vraie industrie.

DigiClub is powered by ooredoo Business et BacPay, première solution de paiement fractionné par TPE.

Animation : Walid Naffati
Producteur : Walid Naffati
Camera : Moez Habbes
Directeur technique : Ghazi Neffati
Réalisation : Dorsaf Kortobi

DigiClub Ep179-Les Data Centers en Tunisie: Un nouveau business model pour mieux s'exporter (Part2)

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Ben Hertz-Shargel, global head of a research team at Wood Mackenzie that investigates the connections between energy consumers and the electric grid, about how the increasing energy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping electricity markets in the United States. In a recent report for Wood Mackenzie, Hertz-Shargel investigates large-load tariffs—a new utility rate plan for large customers, like data centers, whose exceptionally high electricity demand necessitates constructing additional infrastructure. Hertz-Shargel outlines ongoing uncertainty around whether the existing electricity market can accommodate data centers, along with potential avenues for data centers to promote clean energy development and protect individual energy consumers and households from undue electricity price increases.

References and recommendations:

“Large load tariffs: a looming challenge for utilities” by Ben Hertz-Shargel; https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/large-load-tariffs-a-looming-challenge-for-utilities/

“Large load tariffs have a problem. Clean transition tariffs are the solution.” by Ben Hertz-Shargel; https://www.utilitydive.com/news/large-load-clean-transition-tariffs-wood-mackenzie/749722/

“Extracting Profits from the Public: How Utility Ratepayers Are Paying for Big Tech’s Power” by Ari Peskoe and Eliza Martin; https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/extracting-profits-from-the-public-how-utility-ratepayers-are-paying-for-big-techs-power/

Large Loads: Who Bears the Costs of Meeting a Growing Demand for Electricity, with Ben Hertz-Shargel

When a tech giant comes knocking, how does a utility say make room for them in a way that ensures the best outcomes for its existing customers?

That’s the question at the heart of Mississippi’s leap into the global spotlight, as Amazon Web Services chose the state for one of its largest-ever data center investments. And for Entergy Mississippi, this wasn’t just about plugging in servers — it was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize the grid, replace retiring generation, invest in community infrastructure, and keep rates affordable for customers, including the 20% living below the poverty line.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester are joined by Haley Fisackerly, President and CEO of Entergy Mississippi. In this conversation, Haley outlines how this deal came together after years of effort, what it means for clean energy and resiliency in the region, and how his team manages to balance the demands of hyperscale data centers with the realities of local communities. 

From navigating regulatory hurdles to ensuring affordability and equity, Haley shares lessons every utility leader should hear before the next big tech partnership lands on their doorstep.

Key Links:
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: https://energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/how-this-utility-ceo-helped-land-amazon-s-16-billion-power-investment-HPe8T88l2ugWwIg

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RLEYYpco_ws

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

How this utility CEO helped land Amazon’s $16 billion power investment

In this episode, we’re joined by Eric Walters, Technical Marketing Engineer at Nutanix, to break down the biggest networking updates in the 7.3 release. From multi-cluster virtual switches and smarter BGP capabilities to powerful new flow security features, Eric shares what these changes mean for resiliency, security, and day-to-day operations.

Whether you’re a networking veteran or a cloud-first builder, you’ll walk away with practical insights on how to simplify management, strengthen your security posture, and keep your infrastructure running smoothly.

Tune in, take notes, and get ready to level up your networking game.

The Calm in the Subnet: Nutanix Networking Deep Dive

Driving IT Excellence: The Professional Journey of Oswaldo Zanelli

The Nutanix Community Podcast is a weekly podcast. It is an informal and technical look at topics around Nutanix, Cloud and the online IT community. It will serve as a campfire and coffee shop for the extended Nutanix community.

Passionate about IT, networking, and Cisco systems, Oswaldo Zanelli has built a career helping businesses strengthen their tech environments. He enjoys solving challenges and delivering practical solutions.

Tunisie Haut Debit, est un site spécialisé dans l'actualité TIC tunisienne depuis 2007. Il a plusieurs productions multimédia radio, télé et podcasts. Thd.tn propose également des services gratuits tels que la mesure du débit et de la qualité de connexion Internet.

An excellent source for industry thought leadership in Edge Computing, Cloud Computing, DevOps, Open Source base on discussions at.the2030.cloud

The POWER Podcast provides listeners with insight into the latest news and technology that is poised to affect the power industry. POWER’s Executive Editor Aaron Larson conducts interviews with leading industry experts and gets updates from insiders at power-related conferences and events held around the world.

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.

Bienvenidos a The Orbit, donde discutimos todo lo relacionado a tecnología junto a invitados expertos en el campo. Acompáñanos y conoce sobre las últimas tendencias en telecomunicaciones, networking, seguridad, cloud, data center, y más.

Welcome to the Energy Central Podcast Network—your ultimate resource for the biggest ideas, boldest perspectives, and best insights from across the electric power industry.

We publish…

Power Perspectives. From CEOs of major utilities to founders of energy tech startups pushing the envelope, Power Perspectives curates the news, thought leaders, and big picture conversations most important to modern power professionals—every week on Tuesdays.

The Watt & Why. Dive deep into utility business strategies, straight from the minds of the leaders deciding what comes next. Host Mike Smith leverages his own decades of power utility industry experience and leadership to get to the bottom of what inspires, drives, and challenges utility decision makers.

Piloting the Future. Hosts Kim Gergen and Lee Krevat go deep with the leaders, innovators, and forward thinkers responsible for not just imagining where our power future is headed…but building it day by day.

The GISt. This action-packed limited series demystifies the rapidly evolving world of Geographic Information Systems through focused, expert-led deep dives into the most future-defining GIS topics.

And there’s even more to come.

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New tracks tagged #Data Center