Mitigating climate change is on top of the corporate agenda today, and socioeconomic and regulatory pressures force businesses to take immediate action. This pressure is also felt by data centre (DC) providers owing to their increasing impact on the environment. According to a study by the International Energy Agency, 2022 saw an estimated 240–340 TWh of worldwide data centre power use or roughly 1.3% of the world’s total final electricity demand. This consumption is further poised to surge as we live in a data-driven world where its significance for today’s digital economies cannot be overstated. It therefore necessitates the need to follow a sustainable approach in a bid to curb its impact on the planet. In this context, let us explore some initiatives for green technology.
Location matters
The first step in the sustainability process is site selection. When choosing the ideal location for a data centre, many factors must be taken into account. Even if they are not initially planned, a long-term perspective should be taken into account that considers the facility’s lifespan when choosing a location. This includes providing enough room for on-site power generation via gas turbines and/or hydrogen fuel cell microgrids, along with sufficient storage. In comparison to amenities that are added to an existing structure, site selection criteria must be more pertinent for both standalone data centre buildings as well as data centre building clusters.
Designing for infrastructure sustainability
IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) rules provide comprehensive standards for the building’s construction phase and the infrastructure of the data centre. Data centre infrastructure is the specific topic of Ashrae 90.4 standards. To ensure that there is a careful balance between availability and sustainability requirements (uptime, TIA, and LEED), the building’s architects and the experts in data centre design will need to collaborate closely. Modular design with multiple-tier availability requirements for distinct server rooms is necessary to avoid overengineering, particularly in data centres intended for collocation services. IGBC requirements apply to both newly constructed freestanding buildings and amenities created within existing structures.
Appropriate water usage
According to research by Delloite, an estimated 40% of the energy requirements in data centres are due to cooling, and therefore, using water appropriately must be a key focus of organisations. Water footprints need to be carefully studied, especially in the Indian context. When used in conjunction with air condensers, water-cooled evaporators contribute to a lower PUE (power usage effectiveness). Visibility is the first step towards efficient DC water usage, so precise reporting is necessary to understand how well a DC is doing in terms of water usage. Only then can DCs identify the primary waste areas and identify areas for improvement. These could be in the form of infrastructure designs, temperature thresholds, or equipment modifications.
Consider renewable resources
Businesses must assess the reputational and regulatory consequences of continuing to use fossil fuels as they contemplate switching to renewable energy (RE) to power their DCs. Furthermore, India has already set ambitious goals for converting to a net-zero economy and switching to renewable energy sources within established timeframes; as a result, future legislative mandates are unavoidable. Data centre operators in India might take a cue from their European counterparts and implement a self-regulatory initiative with specified targets akin to the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. Should regulatory requirements come into effect later on, this will assist with an expensive refit.
Going green: developing sustainable data centres
In the context of data centres, sustainability would include a wide range of activities, from construction to operation to decommissioning and disposal of end-of-life equipment. This increases the potential for lowering the data centre’s environmental footprint. Thus, four areas must receive the greatest attention: choosing a site, infrastructure sustainability, using water wisely, and taking renewable energy sources into account.
The data centre market in India has the potential to expand rapidly. According to Statista, the data centre market in India is poised to reach USD 9.88 billion by 2028. Even though India’s data centre operators face a slightly higher PUE than their European counterparts, there are still many things they can do to improve sustainability. As a whole, industry leaders must make sure that it appears not to be leaving an immense environmental impact while supporting other sectors of the economy, including telecom infrastructure, in their efforts to become more sustainable.
