Listen in on many discussions about digital infrastructure, and it’s clear that data centers often carry a poor reputation for sustainability. They’re labeled as energy-intensive operations – silent giants consuming gigawatts of power just to keep servers cool. To be fair, the numbers can look alarming. A report from Newmark projects U.S. data center power demand will jump from 17 GW in 2022 to 35 GW by 2030, nearly doubling in just eight years. Those numbers hit hard. But here’s what those stats miss completely: they ignore how operators are actually working to shrink their environmental impact and that the industry isn’t just sitting still while the criticism piles on.
Managing Energy Demand with Efficiency
Data centers do use electricity, but they also measure it more closely than almost any other industry. Not long ago, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) became the gold standard for measuring efficiency. It compares a facility’s total energy use against the energy powering the servers. In the early 2000s, PUE values often exceeded 2.0; today, the average hovers around 1.58. How did operators pull this off? They got serious about airflow. Using hot-aisle containment, variable-speed fans, and higher-efficiency power gear, operators redesigned airflow patterns.
At Element Critical, every site is designed with these best practices. We routinely audit PUE and adjust our equipment layout, cooling thresholds, and power distribution to keep the ratio low and efficiency high.
Shifting the Grid Toward Clean Power
Where data centers draw their electricity matters as much as how much they use. The U.S. Department of Energy notes that meeting growing electricity demand sustainably requires a stronger share of solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear renewables on the grid. Large cloud providers often lead with 100 percent renewable pledges, but mid-sized and regional operators play a key role too. Element Critical demonstrates this commitment through power purchase agreements that deliver 100% renewable electricity to our facilities. We’ve committed to 100% carbon offsets across every site in our portfolio. That’s not the end goal. By 2030, we plan to directly source and generate zero-carbon energy through our own projects and utility partnerships. We believe every business benefits from reduced environmental impact, whether they run three servers or three thousand.
Smart Cooling Reduce Waste
Cooling is one of the largest energy draws in a data center. Period. How facilities handle thermal management determines whether they succeed or fail at efficiency. At Element Critical, we use modern cooling techniques designed to minimize energy use while maintaining optimal performance. This includes hot and cold aisle containment to prevent air mixing, as well as intelligent controls that adjust cooling output based on server load and ambient conditions. These strategies help ensure more power goes directly to the IT equipment and not overhead systems.
Exploring Smarter Ways to Manage Heat
Servers generate heat. It’s a simple fact of operating data centers. The bigger challenge is deciding how to manage it efficiently. At Element Critical, we focus on practical cooling methods that minimize energy use while maintaining performance in a variety of environments.
Our facilities use highly efficient air-cooled chillers with N+20 percent unit redundancy to support all critical service loads. Cooling systems follow an N+1 architecture, with airflow designed to support both standard and high-density deployments. This allows customers running AI, financial, or gaming workloads to get the compute they need in a smaller footprint with lower overall energy use.
We are also working toward 100 percent carbon offset for our entire portfolio and plan to power operations by 2030 with purchased renewable resources and on-site solar generation. Customers benefit from purpose-built facilities that deliver efficiency, reliability, and the ability to align with long-term sustainability goals.
For us, sustainability isn’t a single initiative; it’s a priority as well as a series of ongoing choices.
Data Center Sustainability in Action
Element Critical treats sustainability as both philosophy and practice. Our facilities include monitoring systems that track energy consumption down to individual equipment racks. Real-time data reveals waste patterns that would otherwise stay hidden. Facility evaluations happen continuously, not annually. When we spot inefficiencies, we act. Cooling system upgrades, power distribution optimization, equipment layout changes. Resources get used responsibly because we measure everything obsessively.
We’re also focused on clean energy. Through our renewable energy partnerships, including 100% green power, we help customers benefit from local, renewable sources while contributing to a more sustainable power grid.
Sustainability is built into everything we do. Contact us to learn more about our innovative facilities and solutions that are shaping a more sustainable future.