Remote work, virtual learning, and the increasing use of compute-hungry tech (the IoT, AI, and VR means data center growth is exploding across the globe. Nearly half of the data centers being built are leased before they are even completed, and data center inventory in top markets grew 17% year over year.
As vital as data centers have become for facilitating modern life, this growth has brought on environmental concerns over the massive amounts of energy needed to build, cool, and operate these facilities. Data centers are notoriously energy intensive, consuming up to 50 times the energy per floor space than that used by a typical commercial space. Northern Virginia, the biggest data center market in the world, is facing power shortages and public backlash over planned data center projects. And Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, recently halted its plans for a new data center in the Netherlands after facing fierce opposition regarding the amount of energy it would require.