The World’s Top 50 Power Hungry Data Center Markets

We live in an information abundant digital world, where data is the new currency, and data centers are the vaults that protect and power it. The amount of data created each year has skyrocketed from 2 zettabytes in 2010 to 44 zettabytes (44 trillion gigabytes) in 2020. This has surged demand for data storage and processing, leading to the construction of massive data centers around the world.

if(window.innerWidthADVERTISEMENTfreestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "oilprice_medrec_atf", slotId: "oilprice_medrec_atf" });';document.write(write_html);} So, where are the biggest data centers? In this graphic ,Visual Capitalist's Julie Peasley uses 2023 data from Cushman & Wakefield to shed light on the biggest data center markets.

Today, it is estimated that there are over 8,000 data centers in the world. Many of these centers end up clustered together due to beneficial infrastructure and provisions from local governments and utilities. They also need lots of power, often at least 100 MW for each center, making power consumption one of the best ways to measure total market size.

While a majority of these data center markets are in the United States, some of them are scattered across Asia and Europe. Rank Data Center Market Country Capacity (MW) 1 Northern Virginia ???????? United States 2,552 2 Beijing ???????? China 1,799 3 London ???????? United Kingdom 1,053 4 Singapore ???????? Singapore 876 5 Tokyo ???????? Japan 865 6 Frankfurt ???????? Germany 864 7 Shanghai ???????? China 725 8 Sydney ???????? Australia 667 9 Dallas ???????? United States 654 10 Silicon Valley ???????? United States 615 11 Phoenix ???????? United States 615 12 Chicago ???????? United States 555 13 Amsterdam ???????? Netherlands 531 14 Hong Kong ???????? Hong Kong 417 15 New York City Northern New Jersey ???????? United States 392 16 Paris ???????? France 391 17 Portland if(window.innerWidth ADVERTISEMENTfreestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "oilprice_medrec_btf", slotId: "oilprice_medrec_btf" });`; document.write(write_html); } ???????? United States 382 18 Mumbai ???????? India 380 19 Atlanta ???????? United States 360 20 Seoul ???????? South Korea 330 21 Dublin ???????? Ireland 304 22 Toronto ???????? Canada 267 23 Osaka ???????? Japan 241 24 Los Angeles ???????? United States 206 25 Salt Lake City ???????? United States 203 26 Las Vegas ???????? United States 173 27 Johannesburg ???????? South Africa 161 28 Querétaro ???????? Mexico 150 29 Melbourne ???????? Australia 149 30 Jakarta ???????? Indonesia 144 31 Montreal ???????? Canada 127 32 São Paulo ???????? Brazil 122 33 Madrid ???????? Spain 120 34 Milan ???????? Italy 111 35 Zurich ADVERTISEMENT ???????? Switzerland 111 36 Delhi ???????? India 110 37 Seattle ???????? United States 105 38 Boston ???????? United States 95 39 Reykjavík ???????? Iceland 88 40 Kuala Lumpur ???????? Malaysia 87 41 Warsaw ???????? Poland 86 42 Denver ???????? United States 78 43 Stockholm ???????? Sweden 74 44 Munich ???????? Germany 67 45 Santiago ???????? Chile 61 46 Berlin ???????? Germany 60 47 Chennai ???????? India 57 48 Marseille ???????? France 50 49 Oslo ???????? Norway 48 50 Columbus ???????? United States 41 With nearly 300 data centers , including many AWS servers, the Northern Virginia data center market is the largest in the world.

Data centers in the region are estimated to handle more than one third of global online traffic. In 2023, Northern Virginia data centers had a combined power consumption capacity of 2,552 MW. That’s four times the capacity of the next closest American markets, Dallas (654 MW) and Silicon Valley (615 MW).

The second biggest market, Beijing , has a measured capacity of 1,799 MW. Though it is currently the only market with an operational capacity of over 1,000 MW in the Asia Pacific Region, Tokyo (865 MW) appears to be catching up fast . Europe’s biggest data center clusters are in London (1,053 MW) and Frankfurt (864 MW), largely due to demand from large local enterprises and organizations.

It’s no coincidence that they are major hubs for government and commerce—the world’s largest data center markets are near capital cities, as historically, governments (and their militaries) were the first to invest in internet infrastructure. Data centers will continue growing in scale and expanding into new markets to meet the demands of digitalization.

Already the wider adoption of artificial intelligence has changed where internet data is flowing. And with increasing digital demands, the amount of energy needed to power these centers also increases. That has increasingly put the spotlight not just on companies and data center markets, but on the energy they’re using.

With massive power consumption requirements, efficiency and sustainability become increasingly important, and not every market is prioritizing efficient sources of electricity . By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:.