Resources
Explore seminal resources on data centers, energy consumption, and their environmental impact. This curated collection includes statistical sites, research reports, journalism studies, and industry surveys.
IEA – Data Centres and Data Transmission Networks Tracker
IEAGold-standard global overview of data centre and network energy use, with historical trends, projections, and policy levers you can quote directly for context and charts.
Visit Resource ↗IEA – Electricity 2024 (Data Centres & AI Section)
IEAFlagship report that quantifies how AI, data centres, and crypto could push electricity demand through 2026, including scenario charts you can use to frame "AI vs the grid" futures.
Visit Resource ↗Aterio – US Data Centers Inventory
aterio.ioCommercial dataset with granular, state-level facility listings (stage, provider, size, estimated power demand) across all US data centres, giving you a quasi-ground-truth backbone for mapping and analysis.
Visit Resource ↗DataCenterMap – Global Data Center Directory
datacentermap.comCrowd-sourced directory used by the industry to browse colocation and cloud facilities worldwide, useful for cross-checking locations, owners, and basic attributes when you zoom out beyond the US.
Visit Resource ↗Baxtel – Data Center Map & Database
baxtel.comAnother major directory with a strong US map and detailed facility pages (power, status, providers) that you can mine for example sites, regional clusters, and cross-validation.
Visit Resource ↗Business Insider – "Where data centers use the most electricity"
businessinsider.comInvestigative package (with an interactive map of 1,200+ US sites and estimated power use) that's great for showing how journalism visualizes data-center externalities for a general audience.
Visit Resource ↗Carbon Brief – China data centres, AI and electricity demand explainer
carbonbrief.orgDeep dive on how China is trying to manage data-centre and AI loads on the grid, giving you a policy-rich international case study on regulation, curtailment, and "computing power" targets.
Visit Resource ↗Uptime Institute – Global Data Center Survey
uptimeinstitute.comAnnual industry survey covering outages, energy efficiency, sustainability metrics, and capacity trends, useful for grounding your narrative in what operators themselves say they're struggling with.
Visit Resource ↗Wikipedia – Data Center
wikipedia.orgSolid primer on what a data centre is (tiers, cooling, redundancy, PUE, etc.), which is perfect for quick definitions and diagrams when you need to explain basics without diving into paywalled reports.
Visit Resource ↗Wikipedia – Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
wikipedia.orgCanonical definition of the main efficiency metric used in data-centre energy debates, giving you a clean formula, typical ranges, and key critiques you can reference in your design and analysis.
Visit Resource ↗