If you’re not sure how you feel about the AI data center debate yet, seeing news like this may just convince you that those anti-data center folks have a point.
In the first study of its kind since the AI-driven data center discourse began, researchers in Oregon have released a new report detailing the size of the data center industry in the state. In doing so, the researchers have also uncovered just how much energy data centers use up in the state.
According to the report, there are 111 operational data centers in the state of Oregon, which take up 22.1 million square feet of building space. Those data centers account for a whopping 23 percent of the state’s entire retail energy sales in 2025.
The report also details that there are 32 additional data centers under construction or in the planning stages, which will take up an additional 6.9 million square feet.
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The researchers behind the report believe that data center energy consumption in Oregon will rise to nearly 25 terawatt hours by 2030. That’s around 31 to 32 percent of all electricity demand in the state and the same energy consumption as 2.5 million homes.
“Data center electricity demand is increasing substantially, and regional as well as state-level planning efforts…indicate that accommodating large-load growth will require new electricity resources, transmission capacity, and coordinated infrastructure planning,” the report says.
The report also found that these data centers directly employ 2,630 workers.
This new report was released on Thursday by ECOnorthwest and the University of Virginia. It was funded by the entrepreneurship and environmentalist nonprofit Lemelson Foundation, which is based in Portland.
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Artificial Intelligence
