The past decade’s explosive increase in digitalisation is forecast to continue exponentially in the coming years. This expansion of the digital economy is fueling the need for data centres. But data centre growth may see significant challenges given the large amounts of electricity they require. Uncertainty about how quickly their power demand will grow is also creating challenges for utilities that have to plan their generation capacity years in advance. Meanwhile, major tech companies claim to be fueling much of their electricity consumption with low carbon energy. But, the story may not be as simple as they make it appear. This episode of Fixed on ESG provides a comprehensive look at data centres’ energy use, the implications of this for utilities, methods of renewable energy procurement, and how companies account for this in their emissions reporting. PGIM Fixed Income’s Birgit Lundem Jakobsen, ESG Specialist, hosts this discussion with John Ploeg, CFA, Co-Head of ESG Research, and Patrick Myers, CFA, U.S. Leveraged Finance Credit Research Analyst. Recorded on October 25, 2024.

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