Summary
The rapid expansion of AI, cloud, and digital infrastructure is driving unprecedented growth in data centers. With global power needs projected to nearly double by 2030, and cooling requirements intensifying alongside higher-density workloads, the infrastructure behind this digital expansion is placing growing pressure on both energy systems and water resources.
Join S&P Global Energy Horizons as we examine the evolving data center landscape and how power and water constraints intersect, including:
- Where data center growth is concentrated globally
- The evolving energy mix needed to power data center expansion
- Rising water demand driven by high-density AI workloads
- The trade-offs involved in balancing efficiency and resource use
Speakers
S&P Global Energy
Dan Thompson
Associate Director, Data Center Services & Infrastructure, 451 Research
Dan Thompson is a principal research analyst in the 451 Research technology research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. He leads the Datacenter Services and Infrastructure team, which is charged with keeping tabs on the datacenter industry globally to better understand its trends and growth areas. His research includes analyses of datacenter providers, market size and supply/demand in key and emerging markets around the world. Dan also provides coverage of datacenter providers offering services beyond colocation, such as managed and cloud-type services.
Dan also provides research on the sustainability of the datacenter industry. Beyond just renewable energy purchasing and carbon offsetting, he has been investigating full life cycle emissions, including supply chain emissions, as well as efficiency gains and water usage.
Before joining S&P Global Market Intelligence, Dan spent 15 years as a practitioner in the IT industry, the last 10 years at a top managed/cloud service provider. Dan has worn many hats in the IT world, from systems administration to management, and was most recently an enterprise architect. In that role, he not only assisted in the launch of the company's security practice, but also created security-specific products and designed security into every solution launched to the customer base.
In addition to a good many IT industry certifications, Dan currently holds degrees in network security and forensics and information technology.
S&P Global Energy
Tony Lenoir
Associate Director, Data Centers and Energy, 451 Research
Tony Lenoir is an analyst with the S&P Global Energy Energy Research team.
Specializing in the US renewables space, he has published research on the expansion of solar and wind energy and also of battery storage; the REC market; and energy communities as defined by the Inflation Reduction Act, among other topics.
Tony holds an MBA with a specialization in international finance from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
S&P Global Energy
Bob MacKnight
Global Head of Product and Services, Sustainable1
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