Renewables

Schneider Electric podcast demystifies digital infrastructure

Schneider Electric has launched the DDI Podcast – a brand new podcast platform which aims to challenge and demystify the misconceptions surrounding the digital infrastructure sector, and share key insights from the people and the businesses transforming life as we know it through tech. Hosted by Mark Yeeles, VP Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric UK and Ireland, the DDI Podcast aims to drive a greater understanding of the leading role that digital infrastructure plays in the digital economy and bridge the gap between businesses and consumers. Moreover, by increasing awareness of how technologies support our everyday lives and by telling the stories of the people working within the sector, the company aims to accelerate opportunities to engage those pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), address the talent shortage and help encourage a more diverse workforce.  The first episode features guest Tom Gorman, Senior Operations Director, EMEA, Digital Realty, and explores Ireland as a tech hub, the local energy and sustainability challenges, and the role of data centres in the digital economy. Across the series, guests will also be covering key topics including the global impact of artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, networks and the cloud, the energy crisis, renewables, and sustainability, the skills shortage and early talent. “I’m proud to introduce a new podcast platform as we begin to demystify some of the key questions at the heart of a sector which impacts so many globally,” says Mark Yeeles, Vice President, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric, UK and Ireland. “Through the DDI Podcast and our guests, I hope we can not only inform and educate our listeners, but help them understand the role of this critical industry and showcase the achievements of organisations who are leading the charge in sustainability and ultimately, the mission to reach net zero.” “Data centres are leading the charge in terms of innovation and embracing new technologies,” says Tom. “One of the biggest challenges we face is educating people and raising awareness of the industry and how it underpins so much of our everyday lives. I was delighted to be the inaugural guest on the DDI podcast talking to Mark about the sector – discussing some of the key topics, which I hope will encourage others to want to learn more.” The DDI Podcast is available to download and stream from all major podcast platforms.

The role hydrogen fuel cells play in data centre design

Euan Cutting, Electrical Engineer, Black & White Engineering As data centre operators continually look for ways to decarbonise their business operations, hydrogen has become a highly anticipated solution for storing and releasing low or zero carbon energy. When considering options for onsite electrical generators, there are very few practical options which can fit in a data centre campus and produce no carbon emissions. When excluding renewables from our options, it leaves us with gas generators and fuel cells. Of the two remaining options, fuel cells have higher efficiency. The cost-effectiveness depends on how they are used, whether it is for backup or continuous power. In terms of cost, hydrogen at present is prohibitively expensive, not to mention the infrastructure required to store it, and the significant storage difficulties due to its low density. While the cost of hydrogen is predicted to reduce over the next decade, making it more accessible, the issues around large-scale storage may prevent usage on many data centre sites. In the future, there will be locations with gas pipelines which could provide hydrogen, but this may not be an economical option when compared to consuming electricity from the utility grid. As hydrogen can react with oxygen to release energy with no carbon emissions, it is no surprise that current predictions demonstrate that by 2030, the hydrogen economy could be worth $500bn. Hydrogen fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to generate low or zero carbon electricity which can be used to power a data centre. The majority of fuel cells currently in use in data centres are solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), providing constant power. SOFCs can generate power through the conversion of fuels such as natural gas and biogas, into hydrogen, which is then reacted in the fuel cell to generate power. While using natural gas still results in carbon emissions, SOFCs are able to generate power with higher efficiency than combustion engines. SOFCs can also be fuelled directly with hydrogen, although this is not the norm due to hydrogen’s cost and availability. While it is capable of providing constant power, hydrogen fuel cells are also being considered for providing backup power to data centres. This is greatly appealing to data centre operators as a more environment-friendly replacement for traditional diesel generators. This change would see the use of fast-start fuel cells, such as proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, which could take the place of diesel generators. SOFCs and PEM fuel cells differ from one another in their construction, materials, and operation. In a high-level view, the primary differences are the electrolyte materials and operating temperatures. SOFCs operate at high temperatures, requiring longer start-up times and as a result, only being suitable for continuous power supply. PEMs, by contrast, operate at lower temperatures and are capable of fast-start or continuous operation, but are a more expensive option. How exactly fuel cells will be used in future data centres is still up for debate, with operators considering both backup and constant power options. There are significant trade-offs with each option; using fuel cells for backup power requires large quantities of hydrogen to be stored onsite, which is costly, space consuming, and high-risk, particularly when compared to current onsite diesel storage. Constant power usage, on the other hand, would see the fuel cells connected to a future hydrogen gas pipeline. The major disadvantage with this option is operating costs – as current data centre operators state that they intend to use zero carbon ‘green hydrogen’, using renewable electricity to split water via electrolysis. This is almost guaranteed to be more expensive than just using utility electricity directly, due to electrolyser efficiencies and losses in hydrogen distribution and storage. Sustainability – a key driver in the use of hydrogen fuel cells The key benefit and primary motivation for installing hydrogen fuel cells within a data centre is to reduce carbon emissions. As stated, some fuel cells, such as SOFCs, can use natural gas - while it is less damaging to the environment than diesel, it still results in significant carbon emissions. This may be attractive for data centre operators due to the cost of natural gas for industrial consumers versus the cost of utility electricity. Given the high efficiency of fuel cells, this allows data centre operators to produce lower cost electricity onsite, with the downside of carbon emissions when using natural gas and added energy system complexity.  Fuel cells powered directly with hydrogen rather than natural gas have the opportunity to be sustainable, provided that the hydrogen does not originate from fossil fuels. Depending on its source, hydrogen has commonly referred to ‘colour’ classifications to help differentiate how it has been produced and therefore, how sustainable it is. Hydrogen produced directly from natural gas is referred to as ‘grey,’ while hydrogen produced from natural gas with a carbon capture, utilisation, and storage system (CCUS) is referred to as ‘blue’. ‘Green’ hydrogen, produced via electrolysis with renewable energy, is often hailed as the gold standard. Additionally, there is ‘pink’ hydrogen - it is also produced via electrolysis like ‘green’ hydrogen, however, it uses nuclear energy rather than renewable energy. The goal to meet net zero carbon targets, combined with the ongoing energy crisis, has also created a renewed interest in nuclear power which can provide vast quantities of low carbon electricity. In addition to the low carbon electricity source which can be used for electrolysis, there are proposals to utilise waste heat from high temperature nuclear reactors, significantly reducing the energy required for electrolysis. This potentially results in more efficient and economical hydrogen production. However, companies are increasingly facing pressure from investors to comply with ESG standards, which is another reason why hydrogen fuel cells are appealing to data centre operators. This pressure is already pushing companies, including data centre operators, to explore alternative technologies such as fuel cells, which may attract more investment and improve public image. The practicalities of hydrogen fuel cell usage in data centres Implementing hydrogen fuel cells in place of diesel generators results in a significant change to the overall energy system of a data centre. As data centre designers, it is our responsibility to design the electrical and mechanical infrastructure to provide constant power and cooling to the servers. From an electrical perspective, fuel cells and diesel generators have fundamentally different properties. To begin with, diesel generators produce alternating current (AC), whereas fuel cells produce direct current (DC). Additionally, they have varying properties when powering up and assuming high loads. This may provide novel options for DC systems within a data centre, although depending on the size of the data centre and the distances that electricity may have to travel, this could become inefficient. From a mechanical perspective, designing a hydrogen storage system is significantly more complex than a diesel storage system. Hydrogen has more storage options available, however, it presents higher risks than diesel, such as greater flammability and explosivity, higher pressures, potential for low temperature, or chemical storage methods, which are all hazardous. This, therefore, requires the mechanical design for such a system to comply with rigorous safety standards. Consequently, local planning restrictions may prevent a data centre from storing hydrogen onsite - a particular issue for data centres in Europe, which are often located in urban and industrial environments. In typical European data centre locations, land comes at a premium and many data centres are located in relatively urban environments. One suggestion is for greater integration of energy systems, which would see data centres located adjacent to energy industries or having data centres integrated with hydrogen generating plants and fuel cells. This solution sidesteps planning problems by locating data centres alongside low carbon energy industries. A major issue with this, aside from the available land, is blurring the lines between the data centre operators, utility providers, and energy companies. While this gives data centre operators direct access to low carbon energy, there will have to be a clear demarcation between data centre operators and utility operators, as the data centre operators’ primary business is data rather than energy. In addition to the above design considerations, cost is another hurdle for hydrogen uptake. While it is hard to predict exactly how costs will vary over the coming decade, especially with recent cost fluctuations due to the energy crisis, there are a range of investments and subsidies being launched. These aim to produce cost-competitive hydrogen at scale. This could take the form of subsidies such as contracts for difference (CfDs), which can help increase investment in low carbon technology. In the last decade, CfDs have played a major role in bringing down the cost of renewables for developers. This has been a success story in the UK, with the grid gaining large quantities of renewable energy. Design-first greener, cleaner data centres There are countries in which the local utility grid generates power from highly polluting fossil fuels such as coal. In this scenario, the carbon emissions per kWh of electricity from these grids are higher than the emissions from a fuel cell utilising natural gas. This allows a data centre to utilise SOFCs with a natural gas supply, which reduces or eliminates the data centres’ demand on the local utility grid, while also reducing the carbon footprint of the data centre, when compared to a scenario in which the data centre used electricity from a carbon intensive grid. There is also the potential to utilise waste heat in a vapour absorption machine (VAM) chiller, to provide cooling and power for further carbon mitigation. Black & White Engineering has designed data centres that use SOFCs in this capacity, which can provide the dual benefit of reducing carbon emissions and costs, while additionally mitigating demands on local utility grids. However, a caveat to the sustainability benefits of this kind of onsite power generation is, as a country begins to decarbonise its utility grid, the emissions reduction which the data centre operator previously had will be diminished, until eventually they may generate more carbon emissions per kWh than the electricity available on the utility grid. While this is highly dependent on the country in question, a good example of this would be the combined heat and power (CHP) plants in the UK. A decade ago, these plants provided ‘low carbon’ electricity in comparison to the grid at the time, but now in many cases, emit more carbon than local grids. Countries which already have decarbonised grids, France, Sweden, and Scotland, for example, will not benefit from a continuous system which uses natural gas to begin with. An ideal scenario for a data centre operator utilising this system would be for a zero carbon hydrogen pipeline to become available, as the local utility grid becomes decarbonised. However, this also requires the hydrogen supply to be cost-competitive with utility electricity. As more fast-start PEM fuel cells enter the market, there will be greater flexibility on how fuel cells can be used. PEM fuel cells would allow for dynamic changes in power generation, potentially allowing backup power options or the ability to provide services for the utility grid. Again, this would necessitate significant onsite hydrogen storage or a ‘green’ hydrogen pipeline.     In the coming years, if ‘green’ hydrogen that is made from renewable energy, can be made as cost-competitive and as available as current fossil fuels, it will offer a sustainable alternative to diesel for data centre operators. While hydrogen technologies offer a promising solution, they are complex technologies which must be carefully implemented to ensure real carbon mitigation, practicality, and cost-effectiveness. Click here for more thought leadership.

Magnetic north: Scotland’s renewable future as a data centre hub

Kerr Johnstone, Director, i3 Solutions Group With green credentials that include the UK’s lowest carbon energy intensity, increasing access to RERs, low-cost land and political backing, are the pieces in place for Scotland to fulfil its data centre sector potential? Scotland has been talked about as a location for big and hyperscale data centres for almost two decades. The geography, climate, access to renewables, and improving subsea connectivity, tick many of the development criteria boxes for data centres. All reinforce the huge potential for the country to attract multiple large scale data centre developments. Scotland is green. A major positive is its increasing access to renewable power generation resources. Its renewable energy capacity reached 13.6GW in September 2022, a rise of 11.7% in the previous year due in most part to more onshore and offshore wind coming on stream. The electricity used in the south of Scotland – which includes the central belt – has been the greenest (measured as gCO2e/kWh) anywhere in Great Britain since the turn of the decade. This is according to independent research commissioned by Scotland’s leading data centre and multi-cloud services provider, DataVita. The data showed that the south of Scotland had the lowest average gCO2e/kWh rate of any region within the United Kingdom, at just over 47g/h since January 2020.DataVita says, in particular periods, an IT workload hosted in Scotland could be 11 times less carbon intense than the worst performing location in the UK and three times less intense than a workload running in London. On land, under the sea Scotland’s land cost and site quality are attracting interest.  In May 2023, Scottish Futures Trust/Host in Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland and Scottish Enterprise issued an updated Site Selection Report. In March 2021, Host in Scotland, partnering with Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Crown Estate Scotland (CES), commissioned a report which drew up a shortlist of sites that are ready for green data centre development projects. From a long list of 80 suitable sites, it named 36 prime locations from the borders to Inverness based on criteria including available power, renewables access, land scale and connectivity. The updated 2023 Site Selection report allowed previous sites selected to be checked for their availability and updates on their development status to be included. Since 2021, new sites for potential data centre development have been sought by contacting local authorities, various government agencies and property agents. This has resulted in an increase of five new shortlisted sites, representing the best sites for data centre development across the country. Some of these sites are suitable for urban colocation use whilst other sites are considered more suitable for rural hyperscale development.Scotland’s mountainous geography is also a plus. In March 2023, energy giant SSE said, it would invest £100 million in a pumped hydro energy storage facility in the Scottish Highlands. And going all the way back to 2009, when the Crown Estate licensed its part of the seabed in Pentland firth, to tidal power developer, MeyGen plc, stories of the potential for 800MW data centres running on clean power surfaced regularly. Swiss power giant, ABB provides the grid connection for MeyGen in a deal announced in 2014. Diverse fibre connectivity to Scotland is improving. Tampnet Carrier is a Nordic based high-speed network operator responsible for over 30% of the traffic between Norway, the UK and Europe. The company has two routes from Scotland to London. One from its PoP in Edinburgh connects directly to London offering diversity for data transfers. Another route from Edinburgh utilises Tampnet’s subsea network in the North Sea connecting with the burgeoning data centre market in the Nordics. FARICE-1 is a submarine communications cable connecting Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Scotland. The cable has been in use since January 2004. Within the country, the Scottish Government says, £1bn has been invested in programmes such as Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB), Reaching 100% (R100) and Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI). These, alongside extensive commercial investment, have greatly extended the reach and capacity of fibre networks across the country. Time to scale Scotland’s ability to attract hyperscale data centre developments would appear to reside in its renewable power generation capacity and energy storage potential. As the i3 Solutions Group GHG abatement initiative shows, evaluation of clean on-site power generation; Power storage such as battery (chemical), kinetic, pumped hydro, and gravity; Microgrids (islanded and integrated operation); and new revenue potential of being a grid power supplier, are fundamental considerations for large scale developments. The location’s initial attractiveness will be viewed through access to thousands of MWs of renewable energy power generation plus its low carbon intensity grid. However, while power remains the dominant factor, other advantageous considerations around planning, location, design and operation cannot be ignored. The planning environment for data centre development expects integration with local economies, Scotland’s broader economy and adherence to sustainability goals. This could work in favour of developers.For example, in 2021, the Scottish Government passed The Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 to accelerate the deployment of district heating in population centres. This could make metro data centre developments attractive. Use cases for data centre heat reuse in rural locations include Scotland’s historically large and rapidly growing agriculture and aqua culture sectors. Scotland’s skills base is built on a historical engineering prowess in areas such as transport, oil and gas, which are transitioning to leadership in hydrogen and sustainable fuel and energy alternatives. On the mechanical engineering design front, the country’s low ambient temperatures and soft water resources provide options for adiabatic cooling and enhanced free cooling opportunities to improve efficiency through low PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness).Scotland is also sparsely populated. Covering an area of 78,782km2, its population density is listed at 67.2 people per km2. Compare this with England, where the population density is over 430 per km2 . That means for site selection there is high quality land available, which in turn creates opportunities for modern buildings with highly efficient electrical and mechanical infrastructure design. Digital infrastructure requires long term sustainability. All large-scale data centre developments are seeking a clean energy future but many will also require the combination of benefits that Scotland has in abundance. Click here for more thought leadership.

Centiel launches new sustainable UPS

Centiel UK has launched its new uninterruptible power supply (UPS) StratusPower to provide complete peace of mind in relation to power availability, while helping data centres to achieve net zero targets. StratusPower shares all the benefits of its award-winning three phase, true modular UPS CumulusPower, including ‘9 nines’ (99.9999999%) availability to effectively eliminate system downtime; class leading 97.1% online efficiency to minimise running costs; true ‘hot swap’ modules to eliminate human error in operation. But now, it also includes long life components to improve sustainability. David Bond, Chairman, Centiel UK, confirms, “Data centres burn massive amounts of energy and use huge volumes of water to cool equipment, and so it is essential that we work towards developing more sustainable solutions. Historically, Centiel’s innovation has led to the creation of one of the most efficient and available UPS solutions on the market in CumulusPower. For the past four years, we have been working to ensure our latest UPS is now as sustainable as possible too.  “Like all our UPS, StratusPower is manufactured at our factory in Switzerland. However, uniquely, it includes even higher quality components, so instead of replacing filter capacitors and cooling fans every four years, they now need replacing every 15 years, or just once during their entire 30 year design life. As a data centre has a design life of typically 25 to 30 years, StratusPower will last as long as the data centre. Furthermore, at end of life, StratusPower can also be almost 100% recycled.” StratusPower now covers a power range from 50 to 1,500kW in one cabinet and can be paralleled for 3,750kW of uninterrupted, clean power, which is perfect for data centres. Like its whole range of UPS solutions, UPS cabinets are designed with scalability and flexibility in mind, and future load changes are easily accommodated by adding or removing UPS modules as required. A data centre will never outgrow a well specified StratusPower UPS and it can be constantly rightsized to ensure that it always operates at the optimal point in its efficiency curve. David confirms, “Centiel’s team have long been at the forefront of solving technology challenges. As a society and in the board room, we now need to look seriously at sustainability and how it can be genuinely achieved within data centres.  “StratusPoweris a significant move towards this goal as it not only minimises total cost of ownership but also helps achieve sustainability goals with a full commitment to zero waste and net zero policies. The system is highly efficient, scalable and reliable, providing complete peace of mind when it comes to power availability and uptime. Our experienced team are always available to advise on the most appropriate options for organisations looking to improve their approach to sustainability and reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining the highest level of availability for critical power protection.” Click here for latest data centre news.

atNorth shortlisted for National Sustainability Awards

atNorth has been shortlisted in two categories at this year’s National Sustainability Awards. The ‘Building of the Year’ shortlisting recognises the innovative design of atNorth’s SWE01 data centre that was launched in 2022. The site is one of the world’s first large capacity (+10mW) data centres that is specifically designed to cater for high performance computing needs, alongside high and low density workloads with efficiency, performance and with sustainability at the heart of its unique design. It accommodates heat capturing technologies, including a primary cooling system designed for heat recovery, allowing all warm air exhaust from the data centre to be recycled in collaboration with Stockholm Exergi, whose local district heating plant can draw the excess heat from the data centre to potentially heat up to 20,000 apartments. The recognition in the ‘Energy Innovation’ category acknowledges its strategic alliance with CoolIT, that gave rise to an innovative and bespoke direct liquid cooling system for its high density servers, which further enhanced the existing infrastructure cooling process and resulted in one of the lowest carbon footprint data centres today. “We are always so pleased that the quality and benefits of our solutions continues to be recognised in the industry,” says Gisli Kr, Chief Sales Officer, AtNorth. “As the demand for high performance, sustainable and cost effective digital infrastructure grows, we remain committed to meeting our customers with the best solutions the market has to offer.” The National Sustainability Awards aim to highlight stories that can help build a more sustainable and better future. They serve to showcase projects that can lead society to more sustainable path.   Click here for more from atNorth.

Data centre builds suffer ongoing project disruptions

A new Europe-wide report has found that external site disruptions and inflationary pressures are causing delays to the construction of new data centres and preventing such projects from adopting greener practices. This comes from the second half of a two part report series from Aggreko, titled, Uptime on the Line, which explores the challenges affecting data centre construction projects, such as skills and equipment shortages, the viability of renewable alternatives and power procurement. The report highlights that the majority of contractors are having to extend timelines due to supply difficulties, with rising costs compounding the sectors difficulties – only 8% of those surveyed reported no delays due to supply chain related disruption. The research uses insights from a survey of 700 data centre professionals consulting for large businesses in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. As pressures mount for adopting low carbon construction, the report also explores the sector challenges preventing uptake of greener practices. For example, lack of skills was among the top two challenges for adopting renewable energy during the construction phase in every surveyed region besides France. Billy Durie, Global Sector Head, Data Centres at Aggreko, says, “Exponential increases in global internet usage and the rise of high-performance computing mean demand for new data centres is set to rise rapidly. Coping with such traffic now seems vital to not only the data centre space, but Europe’s wider economic growth. “Market disruptions, rising costs and regulatory pressures, however, mean challenges outside of contractors’ control are jeopardising project schedules. The demand for new sites to cope with traffic volumes mean this will soon become unsustainable, necessity strategies which combat delays, while supporting the transition to renewable practices.” To support the data centre market with these challenges, Aggreko’s report highlights the bridging solutions designed to keep data centre builds on track. Such approaches use tactical strategies and new technologies to secure power, integrate greener power, maximise energy efficiency, minimise delays and counter weather conditions. Billy concludes, “Data centre construction requires various different parts working in unison and while delays often come part and parcel with new builds, as disruption becomes more common, comprehensive contingency planning should too. Innovations in equipment mean contractors can offset these challenges with energy and temperature control provisions throughout the building phase. “As the demand for data centres becomes more intense, the bridging solutions discussed in Aggreko’s report offer the stability contractors need to deliver projects on time. However, technologies that improve resilience to external disruptions, must support contractors’ bottom lines and sustainability credentials. Doing so will be key for what is set to be a period of insatiable growth for the sector.” Click here for more from Aggreko.

Vertiv's guidance on data centres during extreme heat

Summer in the northern hemisphere has just started, but already devastating heatwaves have washed over much of the US, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia. Widespread wildfires in Canada have triggered air quality alerts across that country and much of the eastern half of the US and similar extreme heat events across Asia have caused widespread power outages, Europe also continues to break heat records as the fastest warming continent. The data centre cooling experts at Vertiv have issued updated guidance for managing the extreme heat. Climate change has made the past eight years the hottest on record, but with an El Niño weather pattern compounding the issue this year, many forecasts anticipate record-breaking temperatures in 2023. The sizzling outdoor temperatures and their aftermath create significant challenges for data centre operators who already wage a daily battle with the heat produced within their facilities. There are steps organisations can take to mitigate the risks associated with extreme heat. These include: Clean or change air filters: The eerie orange haze that engulfed New York was a powerful visual representation of one of the most immediate and severe impacts of climate change. For data centre operators, it should serve as a reminder to clean or change air filters in their data centre thermal management systems and HVAC systems. Those filters help to protect sensitive electronics from particulates in the air, including smoke from faraway wildfires. Accelerate planned maintenance and service: Extreme heat and poor air quality tax more than data centre infrastructure systems. Electricity providers often struggle to meet the surge in demand that comes with higher temperatures, and outages are common. Such events are not the time to learn about problems with UPS system or cooling unit. Cleaning condenser coils and maintaining refrigerant charge levels are examples of proactive maintenance that can help to prevent unexpected failures. Activate available efficiency tools: Many modern UPS systems are equipped with high efficiency eco-modes that can reduce the amount of power the system draws from the grid. Heatwaves like those seen recently push the grid to its limits, meaning any reductions in demand can be the difference between uninterrupted service and a devastating outage. Leverage alternative energy sources: Not all data centres have access to viable alternative energy, but those that do should leverage off-grid power sources. These could include on/off-site solar arrays or other alternate sources, such as off-site wind farms and lithium-ion batteries, to enable peak shifting or shaving. Use of generators is discouraged during heat waves unless an outage occurs. Diesel generators produce more greenhouse gas and emissions associated with climate change than backup options that use alternative energy. In fact, organisations should postpone planned generator testing when temperatures are spiking. “These heatwaves are becoming more common and more extreme, placing intense pressure on utility providers and data centre operators globally,” says John Niemann, Senior Vice President for the Global Thermal Management Business for Vertiv. “Organisations must match that intensity with their response, proactively preparing for the associated strain not just on their own power and cooling systems, but on the grid as well. Prioritising preventive maintenance service and collaborating with electricity providers to manage demand can help reduce the likelihood of any sort of heat-related equipment failure.” “Again this year, parts of Europe are experiencing record setting heat, and in our business we specifically see the impact on data centres. Prioritising thermal redundancy and partnering with a service provider with widespread local presence and first-class restoration capabilities can make the difference in data centre availability,” says Flora Cavinato, Global Service Portfolio Director. “Swift response times and proactive maintenance programs can help organisations to sustain their business operations while effectively optimising their critical infrastructure.” Click here for more on Vertiv.

Start Campus and EXA to expand network route

Start Campus has announced that EXA Infrastructure (EXA) has committed to invest in two new diverse and redundant terrestrial routes in Sines, Portugal.  EXA’s strategic network expansion in Sines links Start Campus’s Sines Project, a 495MW hyperscale data centre development, to its backbone in Madrid, Spain. The new connectivity hub will be the gateway to European, African and American digital platforms.  The key location of the project further strengthens Portugal as a connectivity hub for Europe, providing access via transatlantic cable landings and EXA’s expansive terrestrial network route. Steve Roberts, VP of Network Investments, EXA Infrastructure, says, “EXA continues to invest and expand our network to ensure we are enabling the growth and success of our customers. We are witnessing an increasing demand for enhanced connectivity routes in and out of Southern Europe and we are pleased to partner with Start Campus to power this demand by connecting Sines to our pan-European backbone.” Set to be ready for service in late 2023, the project will be a large hyperscaler data centre ecosystem. It benefits from ocean water cooling systems, high voltage power grids, and high capacity international fibre optic cables. Being fully powered by renewable and affordable energy, the company also offers a 100% sustainable campus powered by 24x7 renewable energy facilities, resulting in a low Total Cost of Operations (TCO) for its customers. Last year, it signed an agreement with EllaLink. The partnership provides a framework of cooperation between the two, guaranteeing that the infrastructures interact, knowledge is shared, and synergies are established to promote Sines as a new digital hub in global data network systems.  Today, Sines is directly connected to Lisbon, Madrid, Fortaleza, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In the future, the connectivity will be extended to Marseille, Barcelona, Casablanca and more.

Sustainability role of data centres highlighted

Harnessing waste heat from UK data centres to warm residential homes and businesses will stimulate the low carbon heat market and help the government achieve its 2035 net zero target, according to Aman Chahal, CEO of TaperedPlus. The Stockton-on-Tees business has been involved in a European data centre project which is diverting its surplus heat to nearby homes. It is estimated that energy intensive data centres with the power of 100MW are capable of heating around 80,000 homes, with the UK ranked third in the world for data centres, which stood at 456 in 2022. Generally, temperatures generated in the centres’ hot aisles range from 80-115°, and it was recently reported that just one small washing machine sized data centre is heating the swimming pool at Exmouth Leisure Centre, saving several thousands of pounds in energy costs. Data centres prevent its servers from overheating through the costly and intensive process of either pumping cool water through the building or by expelling the heat, which can instead be used to fuel district heating systems. Currently around 45% of data centre energy is used by cooling systems. The EU is already seeking to make the heating and cooling sector carbon neutral by 2035, which includes plans to harness waste heat from data centres. While the UK government has made a case for heat networks, they are relatively uncommon, given their complexity and financial outlay involved. Aman says that TaperedPlus was brought in on the European project to create a non-combustible insulation system to aid drainage whilst maintaining thermal performance and onerous fire requirements. He adds, “It was amazing to see what is otherwise classed as ‘waste’ heat being used to benefit the local community. In today’s digital-driven world, data centres are very much a growth area, so there is a huge opportunity to make them sustainable. “It is vital, as data centres are particularly energy intensive and account for 4% of global electricity consumption and 1% of greenhouse gas emissions. “It’s time the UK caught up with Europe in respect of this technology and made a concerted effort to attract the necessary investment required to harness this largely untapped resource. “This would further stimulate the low carbon heat market and encourage widespread adoption of heat networks, which would make a major contribution to the government’s 2035 net zero target.” Examples of data centre heat networks include: Stockholm Data Park, which aims to meet 10% of the entire heating needs of the Swedish capital by 2035. In the Netherlands, Switch Datacentres is replacing natural gas with excess heated water from direct liquid cooling of data centre heat being sent to homes. Microsoft has partnered with Fortum to heat thousands of homes in Helsinki. It currently supplies 250,000 customers and says, once complete, 40% can be heated by direct liquid cooling.

Aruba on track to meet the CNDCP 2030 targets

Aruba has announced that it has completed the certification of its adherence to the principles of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP) by meeting the requirements of the Self-Regulatory Initiative (SRI). Bureau Veritas has validated the conformity of the procedures and calculation methodologies for the company's data centres, in relation to the values of PUE, WUE, clean energy, economy and circular energy indicated by the Pact. This milestone demonstrates that Aruba is already on track to achieve the objectives set by the Pact for 2030. The Pact In 2021, leading cloud infrastructure providers and data centre operators founded the CNDCP, a historic commitment to proactively drive the transition to a climate neutral economy. To date, more than 80 signatories, including national industry trade associations and individual operators, have joined the initiative aimed at a more sustainable management of the industry, setting targets for 2025 and 2030 in the following areas: Energy efficiency of data centres by meeting defined thresholds that are measured through monitoring and recording of PUE data. Usage of energy in increasing percentages from renewable and carbon-free sources that are confirmed through record keeping and copies of certificates of power purchase agreements. Water conservation is ensured through the calculation of WUE and the recording of incoming water meter readings for each data centre. Circular economy is checked through server reuse and recycling programmes, which require companies to have deployment plans and asset management mechanisms that allow for the recycling, resale or reuse of IT equipment. Circular energy is measured by periodic audits to assess implementations for the possibility of heat recovery and reuse. The Pact, therefore, by focusing primarily on achieving climate neutrality, is in line with various aspects of the Green Deal. By addressing these areas, it aims to promote a positive change in the data centre sector towards a more sustainable and responsible future. As part of the implementation of SRI, the first deadline requires a declaration by the operator that confirms the existence of monitoring policies and procedures, and a calculation methodology for data collection and storage. For large operators, this requires verification by an independent third party and for small and medium-sized operators, a self-declaration is sufficient. After announcing in March 2023, the successful completion of the audit concerning the compliance of the first perimeter in the path of adherence to the Pact, with this, Aruba has confirmed that it has completed the certification of adherence to the SRI and is, therefore, compliant with the terms of the Pact.