Jonathan Koomey's Data Center Research

Energy and climate researcher Jonathan Koomey, PhD, joined AVCA's panel on June 8 to discuss the current state of data center expansion in San Jose. Koomey, who has done extensive research on data centers, publishes regularly on the subjects surrounding data center usage, energy demand, and climate solutions.

Koomey writes regularly about his research at https://www.koomey.com/koomey_blog

For more about his background: https://www.koomey.com/about

Here is a partial list of his work with links to the reports.

Koomey, Jonathan, Zachary Schmidt, and Tanya Das. 2025. Electricity Demand Growth and Data Centers: A Guide for the Perplexed. Washington, DC: Bipartisan Policy Center. February. [https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/electricity-demand-growth-and-data-centers/]

Koomey, Jonathan, and Eric Masanet. 2026. Understanding AI energy use (part of a special report on AI for energy, water and waste management). Veolia and Microsoft. February 10. [https://www.institut.veolia.org/en/publications/veolia-institute-review-facts-reports/ai-energy-water-and-waste-management]

Koomey, Jonathan, Zachary Schmidt, Priya Sreedharan, Nikhil Kumar, and Taylor McNair. 2026. Separating fact from fiction in data center electricity forecasts: A guide for regulators. Bay Area, California: A joint report by Koomey Analytics and Gridlab. March. [https://gridlab.org/portfolio-item/data-center-load-forecast-report/]

Koomey, Jonathan, and Zachary Schmidt. 2026. Prevalence of reclaimed municipal water use for cooling for the top ten global data center operators: A preliminary analysis. Bay Area, California: Koomey Analytics. January 13. [https://www.koomey.com/koomey_blog/an-empirical-assessment-of-data-center-sites-using-reclaimed-municipal-wastewater-for-cooling/]

Luers, Amy, Jonathan Koomey, Eric Masanet, Owen Gaffney, Felix Creutzig, Juan Lavista Ferres, and Eric Horvitz. 2024. "Will AI accelerate or delay the race to net-zero emissions?" Nature. vol. 628, April 22. pp. 718-720. [https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01137-x]