• Eaton says electricity demand should be assessed against computing output, while Elea points to power source and cooling design
  • Brazilian data centres accounted for 1.7% of national electricity use in 2024, with Brasscom projecting 3.6% by 2029

The fact

Data centre executives interviewed for Capacity’s Energy Special Report have challenged the sector’s “energy guzzler” label, arguing that absolute electricity consumption does not show how efficiently facilities turn energy into computing output. JP Buzzell, Eaton’s chief data centre architect, said focusing only on total consumption oversimplifies a facility’s performance.

José Mendieta, energy director at Brazilian operator Elea Data Centers, said data centres accounted for about 1.7% of Brazil’s electricity consumption in 2024, a share Brasscom projects will reach 3.6% by 2029. Brazil’s electricity mix was 88.2% renewable in 2024. Mendieta also said 80% of Elea’s facilities use closed-loop cooling, which reuses cooling fluid within the system, with the company expecting the share to reach 90%.

The assessment

The report points to a clear problem: national grid data and company-wide averages do not show how an individual facility performs. A site connected to a cleaner grid may produce fewer emissions, while closed-loop cooling may reduce water use. Neither figure, however, explains how much computing work the facility delivers for the electricity it consumes.

Operators therefore need site-level data covering power source, electricity use, cooling design, water consumption and computing output, measured on a consistent basis. Without that information, readers cannot compare projects or tell whether a strong company average applies to a particular facility. For BTW readers, site-level reporting would give planning authorities, customers and local communities a clearer basis for judging the resource use of new data centre projects.

What to watch

Watch whether Eaton, Elea and other operators publish site-level figures using consistent definitions for electricity use, power source, cooling, water consumption and computing output. Planning applications, sustainability reports and independently reviewed data will show whether efficiency claims can be supported at individual facilities rather than through national or fleet-wide averages.