EXPERT OPINION to offer not just frequency response , but also move into direct flexible supply to the grid . Sector coupling , then , could become one of 2022 ’ s major headlines for the data centre sector .
Currently , we ’ re seeing the first glimmers of what this might look like ; by the end of 2022 and beyond the dots between data and power will truly have been redrawn and hopefully look joined up , and we will continue to see the growth of ventures structured to make data centres part of the solution to the renewable transition . ◊
were even political calls for a moratorium on new data centres . Between all the stakeholders , the energy and data centre landscape is now quite complex , requiring new policy and strategies . It would be naïve to assume that Ireland ’ s case is unique , it is perhaps just the first to experience the confluence of trends .
Limited capacity means acute oversight
Players in the data centre sector – from big tech to service providers and real estate owners – have grown used to getting power whenever they need it . But as the plates spin across many sources of demand , data ’ s role will be scrutinised in detail . The sector can make the case that its activities offset existing demand elsewhere but cannot excuse itself from the consequences of creating greater demand in the main .
As such , the challenge for data centres will no longer be one of efficiency , but one of sustainability . New metrics , new approaches to data centre design and operations will fall under greater scrutiny , as will the energy consumed by the overall telecom infrastructure which has an energy requirement many times that of the data centre industry . We rely on data , data relies on power , and a significant gap between our wants and needs will soon emerge .
On one side , this appears as a crisis . However , on the other side , this will be the kind of gap that will attract serious investment and innovation . For the grid , this gap will enable new and existing private ventures to build out the renewable power we desperately need .
The market opportunity for alignment of data and power
A seller ’ s market for power supply opens the door to new approaches and new models . For data centres , it will solidify the economic case for a new relationship with power , not just as consumers but as sites which support the grid with energy services , storage and even power generation .
Data and power will realign and soon , in some cases , that alignment will become a physical proximity too . With economics and policy beginning to align in this manner , there is a case for data centres
THE CHALLENGE FOR DATA CENTRES WILL NO LONGER BE ONE OF EFFICIENCY , BUT ONE OF SUSTAINABILITY .
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