As the Kingdom rapidly advances its digital infrastructure, the surging energy demand poses new challenges. However, scale without precision can become a liability, Jay Gadhavi tells OGN

Saudi Arabia is in the middle of a once-in-a-generation data centre build-out; AI training clusters, sovereign clouds, hyperscale campuses and edge facilities are moving from design phase to live operations in record time.

The scale is unprecedented. The Middle East’s total capacity will triple from around 1 GW in 2025 to 3.3 GW within five years.

For Saudi Arabia, that growth includes AWS’s $5.3 billion investment, MIS’s planned 112-MW capacity expansion, and DataVolt’s 1.5-GW AI-ready campus at NEOM’s Oxagon (powered largely by renewables).

But these facilities come with enormous energy and cooling demands. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that global data centre electricity consumption could more than double to 945 TWh by 2030, driven heavily by AI workloads.

Rack densities of 20-30 kW and above are becoming the norm, pushing liquid-cooling systems to the forefront, and making accurate measurement of flows, temperatures and energy transfer essential for both operational reliability and sustainability.

"The scale of Saudi Arabia’s digital expansion is extraordinary, but scale without precision can become a liability. The real opportunity is to embed high-accuracy measurement from the very start, so that data centres not only perform, but prove their efficiency every single day," Jay Gadhavi, General Manager, KROHNE Middle East & Africa, tells OGN energy magazine.

MEASUREMENT IS FIRST STEP TOWARD EFFICIENCY

Too often, efficiency is treated as something added after commissioning. In reality, sustainability is locked in during the design stage.

Jay Gadhavi

When operators specify high-accuracy metering—flow, temperature, and thermal energy—from day one, they gain the ability to optimise continuously, diagnose root causes quickly, and produce auditable performance data for customers, regulators, and investors.

Deep inside the white space of a data centre, electromagnetic or ultrasonic flowmeters paired with precision RTD temperature sensors allow real-time calculation of heat extraction per rack.

This means loops can be balanced for maximum efficiency, micro-leaks can be detected early, and vendor performance can be validated with hard data.

Guided-radar level measurement on expansion vessels and buffer tanks, plus differential-pressure monitoring across filters, adds an extra layer of protection against unplanned downtime.

In the plantroom, chillers and pumps often account for the majority of a data centre’s operational energy.

Precise flow and temperature measurement across supply and return headers allows chilled-water setpoints to be raised slightly, pump speeds to be trimmed, and temperature to be held steady—all of which directly improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and reduce Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE).

Smart devices like KROHNE’s FOCUS-1 integrate flow, pressure, and control into a single unit, making plantrooms more responsive to changing IT loads whilst benefitting from digital-twinning capabilities.

DISTRICT COOLING & RENEWABLE INTEGRATION

In Saudi Arabia’s urban developments, district cooling is increasingly being linked to data centre projects.

Operators such as Tabreed have demonstrated that district cooling can use up to 50 per cent less electricity than standalone air-cooled chillers under equivalent loads, with comparable reductions in CO2 emissions.

For data centre operators, accurate thermal-energy metering is essential, not just for billing and service-level verification, but also for optimising water and energy consumption over time.

As renewable capacity in the Kingdom grows, precise power-attribution metering will be critical for proving claims around green-energy usage.

This is particularly important for market-based Scope 2 accounting, which requires hour-by-hour verification to meet leading ESG frameworks.

THE AI DIMENSION

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just driving data centre demand, it’s also reshaping operations.

According to Data Centre Dynamics, densification trends mean designs above 29 kW per rack are becoming standard for AI clusters, accelerating the adoption of liquid cooling.

This in turn demands more sensors, more accuracy, and more robust data streams to feed both operational control systems and AI-driven optimisation platforms.

KROHNE’s own AI division has seen significant global growth as clients increasingly require AI-powered tools to combine real-time process data with predictive analytics.

For data centre operators, this means being able to forecast cooling loads, model the impact of efficiency measures, and make investment decisions backed by live operational evidence.

MEASUREMENT AS A STRATEGIC ASSET

In a market moving as fast as Saudi Arabia’s, measurement is more than a technical function; it is a strategic asset.

Finance teams use it to qualify for sustainability-linked loans; operations teams use it to fine-tune plant performance and reduce utility bills; and ESG teams use it to ensure claims can withstand scrutiny from auditors and investors. All of this builds efficiency models but also trust.

KROHNE’s regional capabilities—ISO-traceable calibration, local service teams, and cyber-secure, interoperable communications—are designed to keep that measurement trustworthy over the entire asset lifecycle.

This level of metrological trust ensures that when an operator claims a PUE improvement or renewable-energy milestone, it is backed by data that stands up to international standards.

KROHNE and other technology leaders are not just supplying devices, they are co-architects of measurable sustainability.

By embedding precision instrumentation and AI-powered analytics into Saudi data centres, they are enabling world-class compute capacity to grow alongside world-class efficiency.

The message to developers, operators, and investors is simple: Measure what matters, early and often.

Every kilowatt saved in cooling or distribution is a kilowatt that can power more compute, extend capacity, and reduce environmental impact.

In a market where AI workloads are pushing data centres to their thermal and electrical limits, energy efficiency is not just about saving money, it’s about enabling growth without overloading grids or overusing scarce water resources.

With precise, trusted measurement at the heart of operations, Saudi Arabia can meet its digital ambitions while delivering data centres that are as efficient as they are powerful.

Put simply: The most sustainable megawatt is the one you never have to generate, and in data centres, that starts with measuring, optimising, and proving every step of the way.

By Abdulaziz Khattak