Abu Dhabi data-centre expansion accelerates as 100% carbon-free cooling power set as 2035 goal

Abu Dhabi- Abu Dhabi’s expanding data-centre industry is entering a new phase of growth as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure accelerates, placing greater pressure on operators to curb the energy, water and carbon impact of increasingly power-intensive facilities.

Elisabetta Baronio, ESG Director, Khazna Data Centers said their ambition is to reach 50% carbon-free electricity coverage for mechanical load by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

“Our 2035 ambition specifically covers mechanical cooling load, rather than total electricity consumption including compute load,” she added.

The expansion is taking place alongside Abu Dhabi’s wider push to digitise government services and build sovereign cloud infrastructure.

The emirate’s 2025–2027 Government Digital Strategy is backed by AED13 billion in investment, with plans to expand AI adoption and digitise government processes, according to initiative led by the Department of Government Enablement to transform Abu Dhabi into the world's first fully AI-native government by 2027.

The growth of data centres is therefore becoming an important part of the infrastructure underpinning these ambitions.

Khazna said the surge in AI computing is driving demand for additional capacity at home and abroad. In its first standalone environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, the company set out how it plans to expand while making sustainability and resource efficiency part of data-centre design and operations.

The data-centre build-out is becoming a key pillar of Abu Dhabi’s push to develop an AI-driven economy and strengthen its position as a regional digital-infrastructure hub. But the emirate’s high temperatures make cooling especially energy-intensive, putting efficient systems, cleaner power and careful water management at the centre of the sector’s expansion.

Alnaqbi added that the expansion also brings expectations for operators to reduce environmental impact and report progress more consistently.

Baronio said the data centre accounted for 27% carbon-free electricity coverage of its mechanical cooling load in 2025, through onsite solar generation and certified clean-energy instruments.

“Approximately 20% of that reported carbon-free coverage came from on-site solar generation, with the remaining 80% covered through certified clean-energy instruments,” she added.

Their new data centres in the Gulf are designed to use energy more efficiently, with a power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.5 or lower.

This will be supported by modular construction, efficient cooling systems and real-time energy monitoring. In 2025, recycled water accounted for 19.8% of the water used for cooling, according to the company’s report.

For Abu Dhabi, the next stage of data-centre development will therefore be measured not only by new capacity, but also by whether operators can secure cleaner power, improve cooling efficiency and limit water use as AI workloads grow.