UAE: Experts say AI can be sustainable despite data centres needing more power

Data centres require immense amounts of power to function, which lead to carbon emissions. However, some sustainability leaders say that data centres, which power generative artificial intelligence, can actually be sustainable in the long run.

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Speaking at a panel session during The Journey to Net Zero event hosted by KT Events, a Khaleej Times division, Resi explained, “The data centre will continue to consume more power moving into the [near] future, [but] there will be a layer of very small data centres, going all around the city and the counties. This will create more efficiency.”

Rise in data centres

General Manager of Al Masaood Power Rasso Bartenschlager, who was also speaking at the session, said that data centres could double or triple over the next five years. “This means that the electricity supply to these sources is growing dramatically,” he said. Currently, there are 10,709 data centres in the world, with the UAE housing 57, according to Data Center Map.

However, Bartenschlager emphasised that because the UAE is a stable government which doesn’t have regular power handovers, it has an advantage over other countries due to “demand and because of availability, there is a drive towards sustainable data centre,” he said.

Russo said that we are seeing a lot of initiatives, especially in the UAE, for the push in renewable energy, but that there’s a “little bit of lag.” He said, “implementation of renewable energy not going to the same pace of what we are hearing. Especially when it comes to fuelling or powering up the data centre.”

Written by

Hind Aldah

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Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.