How the digital world is transforming the energy system
The global map of data centers reflects not only the level of digital development but also the capacity for a reliable energy supply.
A ranking prepared by Visual Capitalist, based on data from the Data Center Map service, underscores the topic’s relevance.
According to the platform, there are 11,363 data centers registered worldwide across 178 countries. The United States has the most (4,240), followed by the United Kingdom (525) and Germany (517).
According to the service, there are 6 data centers in Uzbekistan.
In recent years, data centers have ceased to be purely technical facilities for hosting servers and storing data. They have become one of the key elements of modern infrastructure alongside communications, transport, and energy.
With the rapid development of cloud services and artificial intelligence technologies, not only is the expansion of computing capacity gaining importance, but the issue of the energy sources that power them is as well.
As noted in the International Energy Agency’s report “Energy and Artificial Intelligence”, global electricity consumption by data centers could double by 2030, reaching approximately 945 TWh and accounting for about 3% of global energy consumption.
Between 2024 and 2030, energy consumption by data centers is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 15%, four times the growth rate in other sectors.
The report emphasizes that this trend is primarily driven by the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, with the training and deployment of relevant models largely carried out in data centers.
From this perspective, ensuring a stable and predictable energy supply for data centers is particularly important.
According to estimates from the International Energy Agency, rising electricity demand is prompting countries to adopt a range of solutions, including renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and new nuclear and geothermal technologies.
This does not mean that data centers are directly tied to specific energy sources. However, as data volumes grow and cloud services and AI-based solutions expand, the requirements for energy system resilience are increasing significantly.
In this context, nuclear energy plays a key role in discussions of energy strategies to ensure sustainable digital development.
For Uzbekistan, this issue is also of practical importance. Nuclear energy is considered one of the promising components of the country’s future energy mix.
In this regard, Rosatom’s experience, which is developing the Atomdata network of data centers by integrating digital infrastructure with energy sector capabilities, is of particular interest.
According to available data, the network spans sites in Tver region, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and the Republic of Tatarstan. Its combined capacity exceeds 93 MW, and the number of server racks exceeds 6,500.
This example clearly demonstrates that large companies are increasingly viewing data centers not as isolated IT facilities, but as an integral part of energy and industrial infrastructure.
Thus, the latest global data center statistics are not merely a discussion of digitalization, but a reason to consider which countries will be able to provide a sustainable infrastructure base for the digital economy. In the era of artificial intelligence, the advantage lies not only with those who possess significant computing resources, but also with those who can ensure their reliable and uninterrupted energy supply.
Nasiba Ziyodullayeva, UzA
