Digital Innovations x Sustainable IT | Top stories to watch out for in July 2026, according to AdVaes

🔥 Top stories to watch in July 2026, according to AdVaes:

• Electricity consumption by data centres in France in 2024 — 471 data centres consumed 4.3 TWh, representing a 7 per cent year-on-year increase driven by AI and high-performance computing (HPC). ➜ Data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
• Denmark is rationing access to the electricity grid in the face of soaring demand linked to AI. ➜ An analysis by Data Center Knowledge.
• The hidden water consumption of AI-dedicated data centres — AI infrastructure consumes more water than most tech giants report, raising sustainability concerns. ➜ An analysis by The Wall Street Journal.
• Irish data centres account for 23 per cent of the country’s electricity consumption and are driving up household energy bills. ➜ An analysis by Developpez.com.

• Key takeaways from the 2026 Digital Sovereignty Summit, where experts discussed aligning digital transformation with ESG objectives. ➜ A summary from the Institut du Numérique Responsable.

• Scaleway acquires Qarnot for low-carbon HPC — Strengthening its European cloud and AI platform through sustainable, high-performance computing. ➜ Press release from Qarnot.

• New EPA rules and controversy surrounding data centres — Proposed changes aimed at accelerating the construction of data centres could spark legal challenges and environmental concerns. ➜ An analysis by Data Centre Knowledge.
• ISO standard on the transition to net zero for financial institutions — A new framework designed to guide banks and insurers towards climate alignment. ➜ An analysis by ESG Today.
• Local carbon sequestration initiative by Data4 in collaboration with ReSoil. ➜ A press release from Data4.
• The FCC requests an environmental assessment of Orbital’s data centres. ➜ An analysis by Developpez.com.

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