O Brazil is a leader in the data center sector in Latin America, with 40% of investments, with the State of São Paulo alone housing the fifth largest data center complex on the planet.
Furthermore, according to a survey of Arizona, a market research and intelligence company with global operations, the national market was valued at US$ 2,23 billion and is expected to jump to US$ 3,69 billion by 2027.
This movement was driven by the explosion of e-commerce, the digitalization of industry, services and government, as well as the advancement of artificial intelligence and IoT (Internet of Things).
Data centers are physical facilities designed to store, process and distribute large volumes of data efficiently and securely, for all types of companies, thus becoming a critical infrastructure for business.
They are the backbone of the digital economy, providing the infrastructure needed to a wide range of online services and applications that we use every day.
Despite the excellent news that the data center market is growing, we must be aware of the need for infrastructure that s this growth and that must be made available to this sector in advance to guarantee its full development.
The key point of the infrastructure is access to reliable energy, as its high energy consumption demands the need for high-quality supply.
According to the International Electric Energy Agency, data centers are responsible for around 1,5% of global energy use, and are expected to reach 8% of the total by 2030.
This number is only expected to increase as the exponential adoption of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, grows, in addition to the fact that our country represents a substantial share of global internet traffic and, therefore, has a data center infrastructure that is expected to develop very quickly.
But how can we this growth and materialize these opportunities for our country?
Without a doubt, ensuring adequate planning of the electrical system to meet the energy demand of these facilities is a key factor.
As major repositories of the content that powers our online activities, data centers must operate continuously, securely and reliably to meet the growing demands for data usage.
And, without a doubt, for this to happen, the use of electrical energy is massive, resulting especially from the need to cool equipment in order to guarantee its ideal temperature.
Furthermore, it is necessary to take into the issue of latency, that is, the time it takes for data to travel through the network is crucial to the efficiency and performance of data centers.
To reduce it, it is essential to position these facilities close to s and internet access points, which makes energy planning and availability even more critical.
São Paulo, which due to its specific weight in the Brazilian economy and good available infrastructure, has the natural opportunity to be chosen for a large part of these future investments and is already facing a growing demand for access to the Basic Energy Network given the increase in demand for data centers , especially in the municipalities of Barueri and Santana de Parnaíba, in the Alphaville region, and in the Campinas region.
To serve this market, additional investments in energy infrastructure are necessary, such as reinforcements and improvements to the already installed transmission system.
This is where the crucial role of energy transmission companies comes in, such as ISA CTEEP, currently responsible for around 95% of the energy transmitted in the State.
The company is investing in projects to ensure that there is quality infrastructure and capacity to feed the increased load in São Paulo. In total, around R$5 billion is planned over the next five years for investments to update and reinforce the São Paulo network.
However, it is crucial to also address the issue of sustainability. This massive use of energy can negatively impact the environment if adequate measures and clean sources are not adopted.
It is estimated that data centers are responsible for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, Brazil has a clean and renewable electrical matrix, which makes it an attractive destination for companies looking to reduce their carbon footprints, known as “power shoring”.
And it is through transmission lines that this clean energy reaches the data centers, requiring a direct connection between the network and the data center, so that there are no interruptions in the energy supply.
Therefore, data centers, as always with new investment cycles, offer both opportunities and challenges.
Through efficient electrical energy planning and strategic investments made in advance that guarantee quality and capacity, we can not only meet the growing demand for data storage and processing, but also consolidate the country, with the leadership of the State of São Paulo, as a protagonist in the global digital economy.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the author. Canal Solar.
