22 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL
www.datacenterjournal.com
Energy is the fuel of data centers, so the dynamics of the energy
market will affect everything from cloud-service pricing to site
selection and more. Recent years have shown some curious energy
trends, judging from data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA). This data provides a window into energy prices,
consumption and mix of sources—all of which concern a data center
industry that has, perhaps unjustly, gained a reputation as an energy
hog. Because the economy is so interrelated, accurately identifying
the role of factors such as efficiency in, say, energy consumption or
price is a tough task. Yet we can still make interesting observations
as well as tentative predictions of how they will affect data centers.
22 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL
www.datacenterjournal.com
2017
Energy
Report
By Jeffrey r clArk