Digital Realty CEO Takes On Data Center Backlash, Vows To 'Separate Fact From Fiction'
Andy Power used prepared remarks on a leasing-focused call to address utility bills, water use and local opposition, citing 75% and 93% figures.
Digital Realty CEO Andy Power gave an unusual share of his prepared remarks on the company's third-quarter earnings call Thursday to public worries about data centers, saying the industry must engage communities more openly. The company, which owns data centers and rents space in them to customers who store, process and exchange data, reported the results the same day.
Power Addresses Utility Bills And Water
Power, Digital Realty's president and CEO, said the concerns from communities, elected officials and regulators are "understandable" and that the company welcomes the conversations. The scale of the build-out is historic, he said, so people naturally ask how data centers affect utility bills, water, air quality and noise.
On power costs, he said Digital Realty signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a commitment that the cost of infrastructure serving new data center demand should not fall on residential customers and small businesses. He said 93% of the company's global electricity use last year was covered by clean energy, and that on-site backup generation can reduce its draw on the grid during peak demand.
On water, he said approximately 75% of its data centers use efficient closed-loop cooling or no water for cooling.
Tax Revenue, Former Army Land And Tours
Power argued that data centers produce substantial recurring property tax revenue while needing relatively few public services. He pointed to Loudoun County, Virginia, home to Data Center Alley, which he said has the highest median household income in the United States.
He also cited Fort Gilliam near Atlanta, a former military installation the company is helping remediate, and DeSoto, Kansas, where it is planning on the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant site.
Over the last year, he said, Digital Realty has opened data center tours to policymakers, students, community groups and the media to help "separate fact from fiction" about the industry. He said the company and other providers launched Infrastructure for America so the industry can engage communities more transparently.
Delays Question In Q&A
Community concerns did not come up in analyst questions. An analyst from Bank of America asked about widely reported industry development delays. Power said local engagement and supply-chain planning have let the company largely keep its track record intact, though "there's always here and there a delay."
The business backdrop was strong. Digital Realty reported record leasing of about $855 million, or $627 million at its share, and said it raised its 2026 core FFO per share guidance to a range of $8.30 to $8.35. The company's market value was $66.7 billion as of the Thursday report.
Power closed the community section by saying the company's annual impact report is meant to hold it accountable for its commitments.
Sources
- Digital Realty Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings: Smart Buy or Risky Move? — Yahoo Finance
- Digital Realty Trust FFO of $2.10 beats by $0.10, revenue of $1.9B beats by $140M (NYSE:DLR) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- Digital Realty Trust reports Q3 earnings above consensus; 2026 outlook raised (DLR:NYSE) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- Digital Realty Trust: Q3 Earnings Snapshot | 11alive.com — Associated Press
- Digital Realty Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results — globenewswire.com
