Microsoft tests wooden data centers in a bid to cut carbon emissions

In brief: The generative AI revolution means demand for data centers has skyrocketed. Increasing the number of these facilities is raising environmental concerns, not just from the power they require, but also from their construction. In an attempt to make its data centers greener, Microsoft is testing one made out of wood.

Rather than using the traditional materials of steel and concrete for the entire build, Microsoft is using cross-laminated timber (CLT) for a new data center in Northern Virginia. The experiment is part of the company's drive to become carbon negative by 2030 and offset all its emissions since its founding (in 1975) by 2050.

The enormous growth in data center demand and the hardware they house, spurred by the AI race, is having a detrimental impact on Microsoft's carbon-reduction ambitions. The company said in May that while it had achieved a 6.3% reduction in direct ...