In 2024, renewable energy hit record levels, accounting for 46.3% of the world’s total installed power capacity. Meanwhile, the surge in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centre infrastructure is projected to double energy demand by 2030, with the US alone representing 50% of the global AI data centre market.
At BNP Paribas’ Sustainability Expert Forum 2025, panellists explored the challenges and opportunities of meeting this growing demand while prioritising the decarbonisation of the economy. Sumati Sankhla, Sustainability Research Analyst at Markets 360, BNP Paribas, underscored the critical juncture we are at, highlighting the pressing need to consider the intersection of the energy transition with AI. While renewables are now the cheapest form of energy, can they reliably satisfy the fast-rising energy demand of this decade? She stressed the importance of collaborative efforts towards a resilient, low-carbon power system, from grid to battery technology innovation.
Managing emissions as a hyperscaler
Hyperscale data centres consume massive amounts of electricity per year, and forecasts predict that energy demand will continue to rise in the coming years. As such, Microsoft has set goals to manage the emissions from its consumption, pledging that 100% of its electricity consumption will be matched by zero-carbon energy purchases, 100% of the time, by 2030.
Commenting on this commitment during the panel, Régis Lavisse, Sustainability Lead at Microsoft France: “It’s not only about purchasing huge volumes of low-carbon electricity, but it’s also about being able to match the consumption with our procurement hour by hour. It means that we are one of the largest buyers of low-carbon electricity and renewable electricity.”
Microsoft is looking to cover its own business needs and also contribute to decarbonising the electricity grid, asking its suppliers to ensure that more than 100% of their electricity is low carbon for products and services sold to Microsoft. “It’s not only about our own scope 1 and 2 emissions, but also our scope 3 emissions,” Lavisse added. The company is supporting its suppliers through partnerships and data solutions, such as Supplier REach from 3Degrees, to help them streamline the low-carbon electricity procurement process.
Data centre operators as active players
An increasing number of data centre operators are investing in energy-efficient designs, green power purchase agreements, and on-site production capacities. US-based data centre operator Digital Realty has been powering its European facilities with 100% renewable energy since 2014.
Louis-Marie Le Leuch, Director of Energy and Sustainable Development Operations – France at Digital Realty, offered his view of the data centre industry’s evolving role, based on the belief that data centres can become an active player in the energy system, and not just the consumer: “The biggest challenge in the future will not only be to produce more clean energy but also manage it and match supply with demand.”
Data centres will need to adapt their operations to the availability of clean energy power on the grid: “That means investing massively in smart grid technology, energy storage, and developing our own energy production capacity. And of course, working in closer partnership with energy providers, regulators, and the whole data centre ecosystem.”
Scaling projects and supporting supply
chain resilience
Financial sponsors are witnessing significant growth in renewable energy and transition investment strategies. As an investor in both data centres and clean energy, Brookfield Asset Management is allocating assets to meet the rising energy demands from the AI and data centre sectors, while also addressing the urgent need for decarbonisation.
Speaking about the role of financial sponsors in the energy transition, Natalie Adomait, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Renewable Power & Transition, Brookfield, stated: “Brookfield’s access to large scale capital provides us with a competitive advantage when it comes to dealmaking, with not many investors competing for the types of transactions we are targeting. We aim to use our scale and experience across Brookfield to help companies grow at a very quick pace.”
Adomait also discussed managing procurement and supply chains, which allows Brookfield to shift resources across regions and maintain project timelines, even amid global disruptions, and enables them to match renewables companies with data centre partners: “We have established global relationships with all major solar panel providers, and turbine suppliers. We make sure that we have relationships on the ground and globally, to execute offtake contracts very seamlessly and really continue to move projects forward effectively through our portfolio.”
Financial innovation amid a three-dimensional
energy shift
The energy system is being stretched by the combined pressures of energy demand spikes from AI, the push for decarbonisation, and serious grid limitations, with estimates of USD4 trillion per year needed for clean energy investment, including renewables, small modular reactors (SMRs), and battery storage. Banks are already mobilising capital, for example through green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, and various debt instruments.
Séverine Mateo, Global Head of the Low Carbon Transition Group at BNP Paribas, sees banks as much more than capital providers: “Our role is to syndicate risk, orchestrate complex partnerships, and intermediate transactions. Across advisory and financing, we believe we can play a role in scaling clean supply, enabling load-side growth, and unlocking infrastructure.”
BNP Paribas’ Low Carbon Transition Group is active across the entire value chain, which Mateo believes is crucial in today’s world where clean energy needs to be “first, firm and flexible,” emphasising the need for flexibility and agility among all players, from data centre operators and hyperscalers to banks and financial sponsors. “The capital stack needs to evolve to match urgency, agility, complexity, and risk, meaning equity holders, investment funds, financial sponsors might have to take riskier positions, and debt should be more flexible, and performance linked. Hybrid capital could also help, requiring more multi-layered, risk-calibrated instruments.”
Capital, generation, load, and infrastructure must be planned in sync to scale quickly: “Banks are ready to take the lead on coordinating this. We can do more than just allocate capital; we can co-engineer the energy transition.”
