Strategic data center siting can mitigate dilemmas between decarbonization and digitalization in Japan

Strategic data center siting can mitigate dilemmas between decarbonization and digitalization in Japan | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Strategic data center siting can mitigate dilemmas between decarbonization and digitalization in Japan Hiroaki Onodera, Hiroto Shiraki, Keisuke Matsuhashi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6707312/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Editorial Note 23 May, 2025. Research Square has redacted the links in the Data and Code availability sections in version 1 of this preprint. The authors state "Due to an oversight during the submission process, the Code Availability and Data Availability section of the preprint includes a link to a repository that was not intended for public release until the paper is published." Editorial notes are used to provide important context regarding the topic of a preprint or to alert readers to potential issues concerning that preprint or a downstream publication associated with it. For more information on editorial notes, see our Editorial Policies . Abstract Digitalization and decarbonization are central pillars of sustainable development, yet their integration remains underexplored. While energy transition toward net-zero emissions raises electricity prices, data centers—the core of digital infrastructure—are rapidly increasing local electricity demand, further straining the power system. Here, we employ a high-resolution power system model covering 1,741 municipalities across Japan to examine the role of data center siting strategies in harmonizing digital growth and climate change mitigation. Our results highlight that while data center expansion and decarbonization efforts jointly increase electricity costs, distributing data centers away from urban areas leverages regional renewable energy, mitigates cost increases, and reduces reliance on fossil fuels and carbon removal technologies. Notably, these benefits hold even under practical constraints that aim to ensure infrastructure access while avoiding natural disaster risks and land-use conflicts. Our insights offer actionable guidance for integrated digital and energy infrastructure planning, and the framework is broadly transferable. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Energy and society/Energy supply and demand Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Energy and society/Energy economics Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files supplementalinformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6707312","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":459689202,"identity":"1f74daa2-bcd7-46e5-8b7e-8219d903a8f9","order_by":0,"name":"Hiroaki Onodera","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEElEQVRIie3QsUrDQBjA8e84SJaTrF+IpK9wIRANFJ+lIZAu9gkELQScgnPAPkQ3ERyuHMSl0PVGi+DkcOISJEPbqIPYVLuJ3H/4uDvuN9wBmEx/NNwMTjdToA/045iMf0nCPUi7FJDsuPie4+Uz9XJ3Akf2wfKhnh8Pb2wqNbz1gV5v1+6kSuPyKYU4t8OgUDi6za0MyVUGZCK2Eq5OI48JClxaFjKNo6lkEZBCAikH3aQRFy1xG41DLp1X/SMBIVviMYUDLtn6Q+pu4pZZGhfinq0JDQ/nGEylFWEyzljXWxxMZ6oWZz5fVGT5XJ33+EI+at30/aDjxz5jX7fJJbCg3Cm+1QD0cD9iMplM/7YVJPVbpCikyK8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6877-6716","institution":"National Institute for Environment Studies, Japan","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hiroaki","middleName":"","lastName":"Onodera","suffix":""},{"id":459689203,"identity":"147f4a84-4093-44d4-9841-282b8ea65256","order_by":1,"name":"Hiroto Shiraki","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nagoya University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hiroto","middleName":"","lastName":"Shiraki","suffix":""},{"id":459689204,"identity":"bfbcbdc8-9c5f-4ebd-ac24-b0acdeb17193","order_by":2,"name":"Keisuke Matsuhashi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Institute for Environment Studies, Japan","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Keisuke","middleName":"","lastName":"Matsuhashi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-20 11:35:54","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6707312/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6707312/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"\u003cp\u003e23 May, 2025. 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