Intelligent Data Centres Issue 05 | Page 35

FEATURE The data centre industry is continuing to explore innovative ways to reduce its carbon footprint, amid pressure from various authorities. Robbert Hoeffnagel of Green IT Amsterdam talks us through the findings of an energy storage project which took place at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam and the implications of this for the future of data centres. Content supplied by the DCA T he European EV-Energy project is working hard to map and promote legislation and regulations of local and provincial governments that can accelerate what is officially called ‘decarbonisation of the energy and mobility sector’. Last summer, the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam officially launched a battery system for storing electrical energy. This opening followed an earlier project carried out by the stadium where a large part of the roof was filled with solar panels. Generating energy through solar panels is interesting – especially if this energy can also be used immediately. For the arena, however, many of the activities that take place here are planned in the evening hours. Storage of the energy generated by solar panels in batteries was therefore an important next step. This also affects the integration of data centres and smart grids. 61 racks of batteries A project on battery storage at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam shows how this can be achieved in practice and the benefits that this can bring. www.intelligentdatacentres.com It is therefore logical that last year’s opening of a hall with 61 racks full of batteries has already received some significant attention. We Issue 05 35