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Ahmad Hammouz, P.Eng.
This online PDH course provides a comprehensive, data-driven examination of the rapid expansion of data centers in the AI era, focusing on their energy demands, cooling requirements, electrical infrastructure, and impacts on the power grid, as presented in the 2025 report Data Centers in the AI Era. The course explores how artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads are driving unprecedented increases in rack density, power consumption, and cooling intensity, while critically analyzing the engineering, environmental, and planning challenges that accompany this growth.
Participants will gain a deep understanding of the technical, operational, and policy dimensions shaping the next generation of high-density facilities. Topics include advanced cooling technologies such as liquid cooling and immersion systems, power usage effectiveness (PUE), energy scalability limits, transmission and distribution constraints, renewable integration strategies, and the carbon implications of AI-driven compute growth. Learners will also study the factors that contribute to grid stress — including peak load clustering, permitting bottlenecks, and regional transmission capacity — and evaluate the role of innovations such as demand response, load shifting, and 24/7 clean-energy matching.
Drawing from utility studies, federal initiatives, and hyperscale operator strategies, the course bridges the gap between cutting-edge data center design and real-world grid integration. It examines the methodologies behind carbon-intensity metrics such as PUE, carbon usage effectiveness (CUE), and life-cycle carbon intensity (LCCI), the reliability of energy-reporting practices, and how embodied carbon in construction influences overall environmental performance.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
NY PE & PLS: You must choose courses that are technical in nature or related to matters of laws and ethics contributing to the health and welfare of the public. NY Board does not accept courses related to office management, risk management, leadership, marketing, accounting, financial planning, real estate, and basic CAD. Specific course topics that are on the borderline and are not acceptable by the NY Board have been noted under the course description on our website.