Powering the digital economy: the global expansion of data centres and its energy implications

Fabrizio Ferriani () and Andrea Giovanni Gazzani
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Fabrizio Ferriani: Bank of Italy

No 1014, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: The expansion of artificial intelligence and cloud computing is turning data centres into a strategic component of the global economy. This paper provides an empirical assessment of the global expansion of data centres and its energy implications, focusing on the United States and Europe. We combine facility-level data with electricity consumption data and document a sharp rise in global data-centre capacity over the past fifteen years, with the United States leading the market in terms of both the number of facilities and computing capacity. While data-centre electricity consumption remains relatively limited at the global level, it is growing rapidly and already has notable implications in some areas for local electricity demand, grid congestion, and electricity prices, especially in the United States. These dynamics are generating political tensions and have spurred a broad policy debate on grid access, cost allocation, energy security, and strategic autonomy.

Keywords: data centres; electricity demand; digital infrastructure; energy policy; grid congestion; hyperscalers; technological sovereignty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L86 O33 Q41 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_1014_26

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