In 2021, iMasons reported there were seven million data center locations around the world. Each of these data center locations has a unique street address and ranges in size from hyperscale data centers with more than 1GW of power capacity to micro edge deployments on street corners that draw less than 10kW of power. In total, they represented 105GW of built power capacity in 2021 and an annual electricity consumption of 594TWh. This electricity consumption represented 2.4 percent of global electricity draw that year, which was more than the electricity consumed in the United Kingdom. These figures served as the baseline measure for the size of the digital infrastructure industry in the SOTI. The report also contains the consensus forecast that the digital infrastructure industry will double and possibly triple in size over the next 10 years with 38GW of new capacity required for generative AI alone by 2028. Total power consumption by data centers could double by 2026 to more than 1,000TWh, according to forecasts from the International Energy Agency.
As I stepped into the Chief Executive Officer role for iMasons this July, our industry partner DC Byte reported that more than 31GW of additional capacity have been added to the development pipeline since we locked the capacity figures for the SOTI report on September 30, 2023. This pace of development blows past the most aggressive growth forecasts for our industry. Much of the recent pipeline growth, more than 20GW, is in North America, where several hyperscalers have announced AI and machine learning data center campuses that are planned to exceed 1GW in power capacity. We’re also seeing accelerated growth in the Asia Pacific region, with more than 8.7GW of new power capacity added to the pipeline since the first of the year, according to DC Byte. There’s also been about 3GW of growth across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
