data_center_research

Washington's Power Paradox:
Data Center Energy Consumption and Future Grid Impacts

Data centers serve as the physical foundation of our digital economy, yet their growing energy demands are reshaping Washington State's utility landscape. This research examines the proportion of electrical load that data centers consume across Washington's utility districts, revealing significant variations in impact from minimal to almost 40% of total capacity in some regions. As cloud computing and AI accelerate, understanding these consumption patterns is critical for utilities, policymakers, and communities to plan for sustainable energy futures while balancing economic development with grid stability and climate goals.

Data Sources and Methodology

Data on utility power loads was taken directly from reports from the Washington State Department of Commerce and from public utility district documents, fully documented in the Bibliography below.

Calculating Maximum Power Capacity

Data on the maximum power draw of data centers in Washington State was drawn from a variety of sources, including www.baxtel.com and data specifications from the data center websites. Data centers report their power capacity, not their energy consumption: if a data center reports their power as "18 MW" (megawatts) rather than "MWh" (megawatt-hours) at their facility, this is actually reporting their power capacity, not their energy consumption over a time period. In some cases, in particular for the Microsoft hyperscale data centers in Central Washington, the only known facts I could find was the square footage from baxtel.com.

For each type of data center, there are known types of white space ratio (the proportion of a data center's total floor area dedicated to IT equipment (servers, storage, and network devices), as opposed to support infrastructure like cooling units, power distribution systems, and operational areas. A higher white space ratio indicates more efficient use of the facility for computing purposes, Shehabi et al.: 2016). Based on this and the following factors, the maximum power usage for data centers can be estimated by their square footage:

1. Small Data Centers (under 5,000 sq ft)

Power Draw: 1-2 MW
Power Density: Approximately 200-400 W/sq ft
Sources: "Small enterprise data centers typically deploy at densities between 150-400 W/sq ft" (Koomey & Masanet, 2021); Typical server rack draws 5-15 kW; small data centers host 50-200 racks (U.S. Department of Energy, 2022)

2. Medium Data Centers (5,000-15,000 sq ft)

Power Draw: 2-10 MW
Power Density: Approximately 400-667 W/sq ft
Sources: "Medium colocation facilities now regularly accommodate power densities between 300-700 W/sq ft" (Uptime Institute Annual Survey, 2023); 2020 industry survey showed colocation facilities averaging 7.3 MW with 12,000 sq ft of white space (DatacenterDynamics, 2021)

3. Large Data Centers (15,000-100,000+ sq ft)

Power Draw: 20-50 MW
Power Density: Approximately 500-1,000 W/sq ft
Sources: "Large enterprise data centers deploy at average densities of 400-800 W/sq ft, with some zones exceeding 1,000 W/sq ft" (Shehabi et al., 2016); Google's data center in The Dalles, Oregon spans approximately 84,000 sq ft with reported power capacity of 35-40 MW (Google, 2021)

4. Hyperscale Data Centers (100,000+ sq ft)

Power Draw: 50-200+ MW
Power Density: Highly variable, 500-2,000+ W/sq ft
Sources: "Hyperscale operators have developed new designs supporting higher densities while achieving superior power usage effectiveness" (IEA, 2022); Meta's data center in Prineville, Oregon spans 307,000 sq ft with reported power capacity of approximately 120 MW (Meta Sustainability Report, 2023)

Based on these, I wrote a Python script to estimate the unknown power capacities for data centers. The code is available on GitHub (see the end of this document).

Calculating Actual Power Usage

However the power capacity of a data center is not the same as its actual power consumption. This also has to be estimated per data center. One fact that could be discerned for each data center that was crucial for the calculation of power utilization: the type of data center. There are three types:

Enterprise Data Centers: Facilities owned and operated by a single organization to support its internal IT operations and business functions. These typically range from 500-25,000+ square feet with power requirements of 1-20 MW. Source: Uptime Institute. (2023). "Annual Data Center Survey Results." Uptime Institute Intelligence.
Colocation Data Centers: Multi-tenant facilities where customers rent space for their computing hardware while the provider manages the building, power, cooling, and security infrastructure. These facilities typically range from 10,000-100,000+ square feet with power capacities of 5-50 MW. Source: Malia and Christensen. (2019). "A Survey on Power Management Techniques for Oversubscription of Multi-Tenant Data Centers." ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR) 15(1).
Hyperscale Data Centers: Massive, purpose-built facilities supporting major cloud providers and technology companies, exceeding 100,000 square feet with power capacities of 30-200+ MW. These employ advanced designs for efficiency and scalability to serve millions of users. Source: Masanet, et al. (2020). "Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates." Science, 367(6481), 984-986.

To estimate the average usage of a data center, I assumed the following:

Enterprise Data Centers: 50-65% of maximum capacity
Colocation Facilities: 60-70% of maximum capacity
Hyperscale Data Centers: 65-80% of maximum capacity

Operational Strategy:
- Data centers with good load balancing and workload management can operate closer to their maximum capacity
- Facilities with unpredictable workloads require more headroom (lower average-to-maximum ratio)
Redundancy Requirements:
- Tier III/IV data centers with N+1 or 2N redundancy typically aim for 60% or lower average utilization to ensure capacity for failover
- Less critical facilities may operate at higher percentages
Growth Planning:
- New data centers often start at 30-40% of maximum capacity and grow over time
- Mature facilities typically operate at higher percentages
Seasonal Variations:
- Cooling requirements in summer can increase power draw
- Some workloads have seasonal or cyclical patterns

According to the Uptime Institute's 2023 survey, the industry average utilization is around 65% of maximum design capacity. Google and other hyperscale operators have reported achieving higher utilization rates (70-80%) through advanced workload management and custom infrastructure designs. When utilities like Grant County PUD plan for data center loads in MWa (megawatt-average), they typically use a 65-70% factor to convert from the facility's maximum capacity to expected average consumption.

I wrote another Python script to calculate average power usage in MWa for data centers (usage in MWa was essential as power loads for utilities are reported in MWa)

Forecasting Future Power Loads and Usage

Unfortunately, this is more speculative. For 2021/22 and 2024, there is information available for Washington State utilities to serve as a basis for future projections. 2021/22 and 2024 estimates for data centers is drawn from information and estimates in the analysis done for the map above. Information regarding projections on data centers is drawn from the Washington State Department of Commerce and local public utility districts in Washington State. Reports from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the Uptime Institute's Annual Global Data Center Survey, along with the work of Masanet et. al (2020) are used to inform projections for data center projections.

The Python code that I wrote to calculate future power demands analyzes historical data points from 2021 and 2024 for both traditional utilities and data centers. It applies different growth patterns to each sector informed by the sources in the paragraph above, linear growth for utilities and exponential growth for data center, reflecting their distinct expansion trajectories. The model generates projections over a ten-year horizon with widening confidence intervals to account for increasing uncertainty over time. It visualizes these projections through three main graphs: a time-series comparison of utility versus data center power demand, cumulative growth from the 2024 baseline, and the changing proportion of total power attributed to each sector. This approach highlights the rapidly increasing share of grid capacity consumed by data centers relative to traditional utility customers, providing insights for energy infrastructure planning

Bibliography

Public Utility Data

Avista Utilities. 2025 Electric Integrated Resource Plan Progress Report. https://www.myavista.com/-/media/myavista/content-documents/about-us/our-company/irp-documents/2025/2025-draft-electric-irp-complete.pdf

Clark Public Utilities. 2020 Integrated Resource Plan. https://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-CPU-Integrated-Resource-Plan-Adopted-and-Approved-August-4-2020.pdf

Centralia City Light. 2024 Electric Utility Resource Plan Update. https://www.cityofcentralia.com/DocumentCenter/View/3927/2024-Resource-Plan---FINAL

City of Port Angeles. Resource Plan Cover Sheet 2024. https://www.cityofpa.us/DocumentCenter/View/15372/2024_Energy-Resource-Plan

City of Richland. 2024 Resource Plan.

https://www.ci.richland.wa.us/home/showpublisheddocument/16606/638600169457600000

City of Seattle. 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Progress Report. https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/CityLight/IRP/2024IRPProgressReport.pdf

Cowlitz Public Utility District No. 1 2024 Integrated Resource Plan. https://www.cowlitzpud.org/wp-content/uploads/Cowlitz-PUD-2024-Integrated-Resource-Plan.pdf

Grant County Public Utility District. Integrated Resource Plan 2024. https://www.grantpud.org/templates/galaxy/images/2024.0909-IRP-Online.pdf

Kittitas County PUD No. 1 Resource Plan Cover Sheet. https://www.kittitaspud.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2319

Lewis County Public Utility District. 2024 Integrated Resource Plan. https://www.lcpud.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-IRP-Lewis.pdf

Mason Public Utility District No. 3. Resource Plan 2024. https://www.pud3.org/wp-content/uploads/RP_2024_Plan_20240813_final_adopted_combined-2.pdf

Okanogan County Electric Cooperative, Inc. Okanogan County Electric Resource Plan 2020. https://ocec.coop/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Okanogan-County-Resource-Plan-12_2020.pdf

Orcas Power & Light Co-op. 2020-2040 Integrated Resource Plan. https://www.opalco.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/OPALCO-2020-2040-IRP.pdf

PacifiCorp. 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (Draft). https://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificorp/energy/integrated-resource-plan/2025-irp/2025_DRAFT_IRP_Vol.2.pdf

Peninsula Light Company. Energy Resource Plan 2022. https://www.penlight.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Resource-Plan-Cover-Sheet-2022.pdf

Public Utility District No. 1 of Benton County. 2024 Load Forecast for 2024-2034. https://www.bentonpud.org/getattachment/b6fb33bf-9e04-4d36-9a41-97331e5627d6/2024-Load-Forecast.PDF

Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County. Integrated Resource Plan Progress Report 2023. https://www.chelanpud.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/irp-2023-book.pdf

Public Utility District No. 1 of Douglas County. Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2024 Update. https://douglaspud.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-Draft-IRP.pdf

Public Utility District No. 1 of Franklin County. 2020 Franklin PUD Integrated Resource Plan. https://www.franklinpud.com/assets/uploads/2020_Franklin_Integrated_Resource_Plan_4_final.pdf

Puget Sound Energy. Executive Summary, 2023 Electric Progress Report. https://www.pse.com/-/media/PDFs/IRP/2023/electric/chapters/01_EPR23_Ch1_Final.pdf

Snohomish County PUD. 2021 Integrated Resource Plan (Draft). https://www.snopud.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021_Draft-IRP_101921.pdf

Tacoma Public Utilities. 2022 Integrated Resource Plan. https://www.mytpu.org/wp-content/uploads/Tacoma-Power-2022-IIRP.pdf

Washington State Electric Utility Resource Planning. Washington State Utility Resource Planning, 2018 Report. https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Commerce-Electric-Utility-Resource-Planning.pdf

Washington State Department of Commerce. Washington State Electric Utility Resource Planning, 2020 Report. https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Electric-Utility-Resource-Planning-2020-Report.pdf

Washington State Department of Commerce. Washington State Electric Utility Resource Planning, 2022 Report. https://app.leg.wa.gov/ReportsToTheLegislature/Home/GetPDF?fileName=Washington%20State%20Electric%20Utility%20Resource%20Planning%202022%20Report%20-%20FINAL_6eb6fc4a-487b-483b-b5ae-d622e9bd2a0b.pdf

Data Centers

Data Centers General

Data Center Map - https://www.datacentermap.com

Cloud and Colocation - https://www.cloudandcolocation.com

Abramson, Ryan. “Titans of tech: Exploring America’s largest hyperscale data centers.” Scout Cities. 23rd July 2024. https://scoutcities.com/blog/the-titans-of-tech-exploring-the-worlds-largest-hyperscale-data-centers

Data Centers in Washington

Serverfarm TITAN - https://baxtel.com/data-center/server-farm-realty-titan-moses-lake-wa/files/server-farm-titan-moses-lake-summary-data-sheet

Bitfarms Washington -

https://bitfarms.com/farms/washington/

Pangborn Data Center - https://www.kuow.org/stories/small-town-surge-rural-washington

Sabey Integrate, Columbia -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-columbia

https://sabeydatacenters.com/locations/east-wenatchee-data-center

BitDeer Washington - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1899123/000114036123044752/ny20009896x5_424b3.htm

Microsoft EAT05 - :

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat05

Microsoft East Wenatchee -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-east-wenatchee

Microsoft EAT03 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat03

Microsoft EAT04 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat04

Yahoo Japan East Wenatchee -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/yahoo-japan-east-wenatchee

Microsoft MWH06 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh06

Microsoft MWHO2 AZ-A -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh02-az-a

Microsoft MWH02 AZ-C -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh02-az-c

Microsoft MWH02 AZ-B -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh02-az-b

Microsoft MWH02 AZ-D -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh02-az-d

Microsoft EAT09 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat09

Microsoft EAT06 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat06

Microsoft MWH04 AZ-A -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh04-az-a

Microsoft MWH04 AZ-B -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh04-az-b

Microsoft MWH01 AZ-C -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh01-az-c

Microsoft MWH01 AZ-B -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh01-az-b

Microsoft MWH03 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh03

Microsoft MWH01 AZ-D -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh01-az-d

Microsoft MWH05 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-mwh05

CyrusOne Quincy -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/cyrusone-quincy

https://www.cyrusone.com/data-centers/north-america/quincy-washington

NTT Data Quincy -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/ntt-data-quincy

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/ntt-data-sells-two-us-data-center-locations-gi-partners/

Microsoft CO2 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-co2

Microsoft CO6 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-co6

Microsoft CO5 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-co5

Microsoft Columbia Data Center -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-columbia-data-center

Microsoft CO4 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-co4

Microsoft CO3 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-co3

Yahoo-Oath Quincy -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/yahoo-oath-quincy

https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/build-design/oath-verizon-s-big-bet-on-digital-media-is-expanding-data-center-capacity

H5 Quincy -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/h5-quincy

Vantage WA12 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/vantage-wa12

https://vantage-dc.com/data-center-locations/north-america/quincy-washington/

Vantage WA13 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/vantage-wa13

Vantage WA11 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/vantage-wa11

Sabey:Integrate.Quincy (Building E) -

http://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-quincy-building-e

https://sabeydatacenters.com/locations/quincy-data-center

Sabey:Integrate.Quincy (Building C) -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-quincy

Sabey:Integrate.Quincy (Building B) -

http://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-quincy-building-b

Sabey:Integrate.Quincy (Building D) -

http://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-quincy-building-d

Sabey:Integrate.Quincy (Building A) -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-quincy-building-a

Salcido Cashmere

https://www.chelanpud.org/docs/default-source/commission/vertical-integration-gives-salcido-an-edge---business-journal-feb-1-2016.pdf

https://baxtel.com/data-center/salcido-cashmere

Lunavi Bellingham -

https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/6065683/Sales%20Sheets/LUNAVI-Facility%20Comparison%20(1).pdf

https://baxtel.com/data-center/lunavi-bellingham

Centersquare: Lynwood SEA1 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/centersquare-lynnwood-sea1

https://www.datacenters.com/centersquare-seattle-se1-lynnwood

HostPapa SEA11 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/hostpapa-sea1

WORLDLINK North Seattle -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/worldlink-seattle-north

Lumen Seattle 5 (Bothell) -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/lumen-seattle-5-bothell

Microsoft Redmond Ridge -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-redmond-ridge

Colocation Northwest Redmond -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/colocation-northwest-redmond

https://www.colocationnorthwest.com/data-centers/redmond

Colocation Northwest Bellevue -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/colocation-northwest-belleview

https://www.datacenters.com/colocation-northwest-bellevue

Digital Fortress Downtown/New York Internet -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/digital-fortress-downtown

TierPoint DC1 and DC2 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/tierpoint-seattle-dc1-and-dc2

Lumen Seattle 4 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/lumen-seattle-4

H5 Seattle -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/h5-seattle

https://h5datacenters.com/slick-seattle2.pdf

Lumen Seattle 1 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/lumen-seattle-1-1000-denny-way

Lumen Seattle 3 -

https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/washington/seattle/level3-seattle1/

https://baxtel.com/data-center/lumen-seattle-3

365 Seattle -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/365-seattle

Equinix Seattle SE3 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/equinix-seattle-se3

https://www.equinix.com/content/dam/eqxcorp/en_us/documents/resources/ibx-tech-specs/ibx_se3_en.pdf

Clise: 2020 Fifth -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/clise-2020-fifth

https://cliseproperties.com/properties/2020-data-center/

DataBank Westin SEA1 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/databank-westin-sea1

https://www.databank.com/data-centers/

Westin Building Seattle -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/westin-building-seattle

Colocation Northwest Westin Downtown -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/colocation-northwest-westin-downtown

Verizon: Seattle 1100 2nd, 1st floor -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/verizon-seattle-1100-2nd

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1100-2nd-Ave-Seattle-WA/17407957/

https://cloudandcolocation.com/datacenters/xo-communications-seattle-data-center-1/

Sabey Intergrate.East -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/sabey-intergate-east

EdgeConneX Seattle -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/edgeconnex-seattle

https://www.edgeconnex.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Seattle-Data-Sheet.pdf

DataBank SeaTAC SEA2 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/databank-seatac-sea2

https://www.databank.com/data-centers/

Centersquare: Seattle SEA1B -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/centersquare-seattle-sea1b

COLOinSeattle Tukwila -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/coloinseattle-tukwila

Centersquare: Seattle SEA1-A -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/centersquare-seattle-sea1-a

WORLDLINK Seattle South -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/worldlink-seattle-south

Centersquare: Seattle SEA2 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/centersquare-seattle-sea2

Equinix Seattle SE4 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/equinix-seattle-se4

https://www.equinix.com/content/dam/eqxcorp/en_us/documents/resources/ibx-tech-specs/ibx_se4_en.pdf?_gl=1*13pnkxn*_up*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-e6-BhDmARIsAOxxlxXMHphUehCnd6xhjn4CXCTxfbdt_hdWk3EEwERwApjVdkw63fry2l4aAuEcEALw_wcB

QuadraNet Seattle -

https://www.prweb.com/releases/quadranet-celebrates-seattle-expansion-with-75-000-square-foot-data-center-860812841.html

https://baxtel.com/data-center/quadranet-seattle

Optic Fusion Perkins -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/optic-fusion-perkins

Centeris: SH1 -

https://cloudandcolocation.com/datacenters/centeris-seattle-data-center-sh1/

https://baxtel.com/data-center/centeris-sh1

Colocation NorthWest South Hill Campus -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/colocation-northwest-south-hill-campus

ScaleMatrix Seattle -

https://www.scalematrix.com/seattle-data-center

https://baxtel.com/data-center/scalematrix-seattle

Franklin PUD Colocation -

https://www.franklinpud.com/assets/uploads/2022_FPUD_Fast_Facts_%28Annual_Report%29.pdf

https://baxtel.com/data-center/franklin-pud-colocation

Advanced Phase Wallula -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/advanced-phase-wallula

PockitNet Walla Walla -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/pocketinet-walla-walla

https://www.union-bulletin.com/local_columnists/strictly_business/communications-company-moves-to-isaacs/article_0afded30-d005-11e9-8e1a-cb1d7259a510.html

Verizon: Spokane -

https://bakerconstruct.com/projects/xo-communications/

https://baxtel.com/data-center/verizon-spokane

TierPoint Spokane SPO03 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/tierpoint-spokane-spo03

TierPoint Spokane SPO01-02 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/tierpoint-spokane-spo01-02

Merkle Standard -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/merkle-standard-washington

Server Farm Realty Titan (Moses Lake) -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/server-farm-realty-titan-moses-lake-wa

Cyxtera Moses Lake MWH1 -

https://dgtlinfra.com/cyxtera-reject-leases-cyrusone-serverfarm/#:~:text=This%20data%20center%20provides%2022,What%20is%20this%3F

H5 Quincy II -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/h5-quincy-ii

https://h5datacenters.com/slick_quincyII&III.pdf

H5 Quincy III -

http://baxtel.com/data-center/h5-quincy-iii

Microsoft Quincy MWH -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-quincy-mwh

Microsoft EAT12 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-malaga-wa

Microsoft EAT13 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat13

Microsoft EAT14 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat14

T-Mobile East Wenatchee -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/t-mobile-east-wenatchee

Microsoft EAT09 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat09

Microsoft EAT06 -

https://baxtel.com/data-center/microsoft-eat06

Microsoft Data Centers General

State of Washington Department of Ecology. “Approval for Microsoft Data Center.” https://ecology.wa.gov/getattachment/324c76f2-7af7-495d-82dd-664b30089ca0/20200227MWHAO20AQE005.pdf

Microsoft. “Partnering with the City of Quincy to open Washington’s first industrial water reuse center.” https://local.microsoft.com/blog/partnering-with-the-city-of-quincy-to-open-washingtons-first-industrial-water-reuse-center/

Microsoft. “Microsoft’s Sustainability Targets.” https://datacenters.microsoft.com/sustainability/efficiency/

Microsoft. “2022 Environmental Sustainability Report: Data Fact Sheet.” https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RW13PLE

Forecasting

Northwest Power and Conservation Council. “Data center power demand is on target in Northwest; Council expects demand to increase steadily.” https://www.nwcouncil.org/energy/data-center-power-demand-is-on-target-in-northwest-council-expects-demand-to-increase-steadily/

Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee. Northwest Regional Forecast of Power Loads and Resources: August 2024 and July 2034. https://www.pnucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-PNUCC-Northwest-Regional-Forecast-final.pdf

Baumhart, Alex. “Demand for electricity in Northwest projected to grow 30% in decade, triple previous estimates.” Washington State Standard. May 2nd, 2024. https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/05/02/demand-for-electricity-in-northwest-projected-to-grow-30-in-decade-triple-previous-estimates/

Gooding, Matthew. “Data center capacity in Pacific Northwest could hit 4,000 MW before 2030.” Data Center Dynamics. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/data-center-capacity-in-pacific-northwest-could-hit-4000mw-before-2030/

Ecology and Data Centers

Equinix. “Sustainability Report FY2023.” https://engage.equinix.com/high-performance-datacenter/items/equinix-2023-sustainability-report?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv_m-BhC4ARIsAIqNeBtOmzHTtS-ae8W2WdHxisWSQ7iGKV1M-D0EE6APggKMova2uaUZMxIaAmyMEALw_wcB

Google Environmental Report 2021. https://www.gstatic.com/gumdrop/sustainability/google-2021-environmental-report.pdf

Google Environmental Report 2023. https://library.idgcommunications.net/idgcampaigns/documents/uploaded_data/49a/1a0/31-/original/google-2023-environmental-report.pdf

Meta 2023 Sustainability Report. https://sustainability.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Meta-2023-Sustainability-Report-1.pdf

Garg, Arti, Irene Kitsara, and Sarah Bérubé. “The hidden cost of AI: Unpacking its energy and water footprint. OECD.AI Policy Observatory. https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/the-hidden-cost-of-ai-energy-and-water-footprint

Information on Data Centers in Washington

CBRE. “Secondary Market: Central Washington.” North America Data Center Trends H2 2022. 3rd March 2023. https://www.cbre.com/insights/local-response/north-america-data-center-trends-h2-2022-central-washington

CBRE. “Central Washington Ranks Eighth, Seattle Fifteenth for Data Center Leasing in 2022.” 23rd March 2023. https://www.cbre.com/press-releases/central-washington-ranks-eighth-seattle-fifteenth-for-data-center-leasing-in-2022

GrantPUD. “Commission recap, 8/27/2024 – Industrial customers’ energy requests to drive future growth.” https://www.grantpud.org/blog/commission-recap-8-27-2024

Van Wing, Sage. “Do data centers fit with Washington’s clean energy goals?” OPB. 6th August 2024. https://www.opb.org/article/2024/08/06/washington-electric-utilities-power-carbon/

Denkmann, Libby and Alec Cowan. “When power is cheap, crypto moves in. The fallout in rural WA is complex.” KUOW. 5th July 2023. https://www.kuow.org/stories/small-town-surge-rural-washington

Denkmann, Libby and Hans Anderson. “Data centers put WA clean energy goals in jeopardy.” KUOW. 8th August 2024. https://www.kuow.org/stories/data-centers-put-wa-clean-energy-goals-in-jeopardy

Fauska, Sarah R., Skyler R. Ruff, Hezekiah M. Shanu, and Aartdina P. van den Hoek. (2024). “Wildfire Impacts of Power Grid Stability and Data Center Reliability in Washington State.” Climate Risk Lab, University of Washington. https://foster.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MSBA-2024_CRL_Final-report.pdf

Glanz, James. “Data barns in a farm town, gobbling power and flexing muscle.” The New York Times. 23rd September 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/technology/data-centers-in-rural-washington-state-gobble-power.html

Ramadan, Lulu and Sydney Brownstone. “Data centers guzzle power, threatening WA’s clean energy push.” The Seattle Times. 24th July 2024. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/power-hungry-how-the-data-center-boom-drained-wa-of-hydropower/

Ramadan, Lulu and Sydney Brownstone. “How a Washington tax break for data centers snowballed into one of the state’s biggest corporate giveaways.” ProPublica. 4th August 2024. https://www.propublica.org/article/washington-data-centers-tech-jobs-tax-break

Ramadan, Lulu and Sydney Brownstone. “WA governor orders team to study data centers’ energy, tax, jobs impact.” The Seattle Times. 4th February 2025. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/wa-governor-orders-team-to-study-data-centers-environmental-and-jobs-impact/

Stiffler, Lisa. “Amid AI boom, Gov. Ferguson creates workgroup to study impact of data centers in Washington state.” GeekWire. https://www.geekwire.com/2025/amid-ai-boom-gov-ferguson-creates-workgroup-to-study-impact-of-data-centers-in-washington-state/

Weise, Karen. “A.I., the electricians and the boom towns of Central Washington.” The New York Times. 25th December 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/25/technology/ai-data-centers-electricians.html?searchResultPosition=4

Data Centers and Energy

CBRE. “North America Data Center Trends H2 2022.” 17th February 2023. https://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/north-america-data-center-trends-h2-2022

DataCenterDynamics. (2022). “Enterprise Data Centers: Developing a Strategy for Success.” https://www.media.datacenterdynamics.com/media/documents/22-04-Telia-Finland-2022-research-report-Strategy-FINAL.pdf

DataCenterDynamics. “TierPoint case study: Deploying significant GPUs for AI workloads.” 3rd October 2024. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/whitepapers/tierpoint-case-study-deploying-significant-gpus-for-ai-workloads/

DataCenterDynamics. “Enabling uninterrupted power: Design for reliability in UPS systems.” 19th March 2025. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/whitepapers/enabling-uninterrupted-power-design-for-reliability-in-ups-systems/

EPRI. “Powering Intelligence: Analyzing Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Energy Consumption.” (2024). https://www.epri.com/research/products/3002028905

European Commission Joint Research Centre. “2024 Best Practice Guidelines for the EU Code of Conduct on Data Cent

Federal Energy Management Program, U.S. Department of Energy. “Best Practices Guide for Energy-Efficient Data Center Design” (2024). https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/best-practice-guide-data-center-design_0.pdf

International Energy Agency (IEA). “Data Centres and Data Transmission Networks.” https://www.iea.org/energy-system/buildings/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks

Update Institute. “Global Data Survey 2023.” https://uptimeinstitute.com/uptime_assets/74fd7ed906aad2b6df2a96dfeb803dde83d52ee3dffdd8ae41a50fab4e23182f-uptime-institute_global-data-center-survey-2023_executive-summary.pdf

Dayarathna, Miyuru, Yonggang Wen, and Rui Fan. (2015). “Data center energy consumption modeling: A survey.” IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 18(1): 732-794. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=7279063

Koomey, Jonathan and Eric Masanet. (2021) “Does not compute: Avoiding pitfalls assessing the Internet’s energy and carbon impacts.” Joule 5.7: 1625-1628. https://www.cell.com/joule/pdf/S2542-4351(21)00211-7.pdf

Malia, Sulav and Ken Christensen. (2019). “A survey on power management techniques for oversubscription of mutli-tenant data centers.”ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR). 15(1). https://dl-acm.org/doi/10.1145/3291049.

Shehabi, Arman, Sarah Smith, Dale Sartor, Richard Brown, Magnus Herrlin, Jonathan Koomey, Eric Masanet, Nathaniel Horner, Ines Azevedo, and William Lintner. (2016). “United States Data Center Energy Usage Report.” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. LBNL-1005775. https://escholarship.org/content/qt84p772fc/qt84p772fc.pdf

Totel, Jerome. “Data centers: The 10 trends of the industry for 2025.” DataCenterDynamics. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/data-centers-the-10-trends-of-the-industry-for-2025/

Code for the Project

The Python scripts I wrote for the project are available in one of my repositories on GitHub

Washington's Power Paradox: Data Center Energy Consumption and Future Grid Impacts