Abstract
The growing energy footprint of Al data centers has stressed local power grids and raised concerns about water stress, air pollution, and derailing climate progress. Analyzing this sector's impacts has proven challenging, given its fast expansion, the rapid evolution of Al hardware, software, and applications, and a pervasive lack of data for accurate energy models.
This presentation will provide an overview of modeling challenges viewed through the history of the field, its scientific aims, and the evolution of data centers. Key knowledge barriers will be discussed as well as innovative agendas to address them. Next, the results of the 2024 Report to U.S. Congress will be presented, including its methods, findings on rapid Al energy demand growth, how modeling challenges were addressed, and priorities for more accurate modeling in the future.
Biography
Eric Masanet is the Mellichamp Chair in Sustainability Science for Emerging Technologies at UCSB. He has (co-)authored more than 170 publications on sustainability analysis of energy demand systems, with a particular focus on data centers. He co-led the first Report to Congress on U.S. Data Center Energy Use(2007) and co-authored the 2nd (2016) and 3rd (2024) reports. He has held public service roles at the International Energy Agency, the U.S. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.