Addressing Aviation’s Climate Impacts

About the Forum

Since 2023, growing reliance on digital technologies, cloud computing, and AI has driven a surge in energy-intensive data centers in the country and here in the Northwest. Potential growth in Northwest data center capacity raises questions for public and private leaders regarding associated benefits and costs.

On April 22, 2025, the Clean Energy Transition Institute (CETI) hosted a Decarbonization Forum exploring the impacts of growing demand for data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) services on the Northwest’s electricity system and clean energy transition. CETI convened experts to have a focused conversation on the challenges and opportunities that increased data center development poses for policymakers, regulators, businesspeople, and clean energy advocates.

The panel, hosted at K&L Gates in Seattle, was moderated by CETI’s Executive Director, Eileen V. Quigley, and panelists included:  Brian Janous (Cloverleaf Infrastructure), Crystal Ball (PNUCC), Edith Bayer (Oregon Department of Energy), Kate Brouns (Governor Ferguson’s Office), Diane Brandt (Renewable Northwest), and Joshua Basofin (Climate Solutions).

To accompany the forum, CETI produced Data Centers, Artificial Intelligence, and Energy Use 101 as a resource to demystify data center energy use, emissions, and the impact of AI, as well as ongoing efforts in the Northwest to understand the implications of data center demand for the grid.