Gulf Data Center Capacity to Nearly Triple to Over 3 GW by 2030
S&P Global expects Gulf data center capacity to nearly triple to over 3 GW by 2030, with more than 80% of the new capacity in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Credit rating agency S&P Global expects data center capacity in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to nearly triple to over three gigawatts by 2030, according to the agency's report cited by Fast Company Middle East.
The report explained that the UAE and Saudi Arabia will account for more than 80% of the new capacity, making them the main driver for the expansion of AI infrastructure in the region.
The forecasts are based on mega projects including the 5-gigawatt UAE-US AI complex in Abu Dhabi, which includes the "Stargate UAE" project, in addition to Humain's goal of reaching a capacity of 1.9 gigawatts by 2030.
The report noted that Humain's planned capacity alone could consume around 17 terawatt-hours annually if fully operational, making electricity supply the decisive factor in the race to build Gulf data centers.
What do these terms mean?
Gigawatt: A unit of measurement for electrical power; one gigawatt equals one billion watts, used to measure the consumption of large data centers.
Data Center: A facility housing thousands of connected servers to run digital services, as well as train and run AI models.
Terawatt-hour: A unit of measurement for the amount of electrical energy consumed over time, equivalent to operating one billion watts for one full hour.
GCC: A regional organization comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman.
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