Research Corner: Tracking the impact of data centers

The “cloud” that stores photos of our grandkids and pets, streams our music, and powers artificial intelligence conjures images of a placeless repository of our online lives. Instead, the “cloud” is a very real place, made up of networks of data centers that require very real resources. The proliferation of AI, cryptocurrency, and other digital assets generate massive demand for electricity and water as data centers become consequential digital infrastructure.

By The Numbers

165%
The predicted increase in global power demand from data centers to accommodate AI workloads by 2030. Power demand will increase 55% by 2027, according to a forecast by Goldman Sachs. 

Energy that Xcel Energy's pending data center applications would require — enough to power 3 million homes, according to the Colorado Sun. Xcel’s five-year plan expects 318 megawatts (MW) of new data center demand, highlighting that only a fraction of these applications will come to fruition. The average data centers in Colorado have power demands from 18 to 40 MW. One megawatt can power 1,100 typical homes, according to Xcel Energy.


65
Number of data centers in Colorado. All are located along the Front Range, and they are operated by 35 providers, according to DataCenters.com.


$1.36 billion
Colorado state and local tax contributions from data centers in 2023, according to a Data Center Coalition report. The report also credits data centers with generating 18,250 jobs statewide.


Between one and 40 acre-feet
Average annual water use among 14 data centers in Denver and Aurora, according to The Denver Post. One acre-foot meets the annual water needs for two typical families.


65 acres
Size of Colorado's largest data center, a "hyperscale" facility in Aurora. It will reach 177 MW capacity, making it Xcel Energy's single largest customer in the state.