22
GOING GREEN
The opportunity for data centres
The process of data involves converting masses of electricity
into massive amounts of heat, which the data needs to
get rid of. Yet, the same heat that’s a nuisance for data
centres can be a valuable resource for the community. By
looking beyond their own doors to collaborate with the
community that they serve with all of their data needs and
manage their thermal load collectively, everyone stands
to benefit from more affordable energy bills. For the data
centre, it could be an additional source of revenue, and for
the community it’s a reliable source of low carbon, low-cost
heat.
Once you’ve looked at all the economic options for
capturing waste heat in your local area, geo-exchange can
provide the rest. Using deep boreholes to take advantage
of the consistent ambient temperature of the earth, geo-
exchange can provide both heating in winter and cooling
in summer. The system uses electricity as its only input and
can ‘time-shift’ energy by storing or drawing excess heat
from the ground on either a short-term (hour by hour) or
long-term (season by season) basis. In essence, it can ensure
thermal loads are matched at all times, providing the same
level of system flexibility as any other thermal source.
A whole-systems approach
Taking a local approach creates a different way of thinking
about energy. It pushes us to take a holistic view of the
system around us, not just thinking about energy, but about
transport, data, infrastructure and behaviour, so that we
can be smarter in meeting the needs of our businesses and
communities.
Taking a local approach, however, doesn’t mean that
the benefits are only local, there are system-wide benefits
too. Capturing waste heat and putting it to use reduces our
consumption of fossil fuels. Creating an integrated, local grid
heightens resilience, particularly against extreme weather
and unplanned outages, and by being thermally efficient we
can also increase energy productivity.
As our data demand grows exponentially, we must stop
to think about how we power this need. The amount of data
that we need to process to keep up with the evolution of the
Internet of Things can’t also see us exponentially increase
power too – particularly as we strive to meet carbon and
climate targets. So how can a data centre operator squeeze
more out of the energy that they use? How can we process
more kilobytes per kilowatt hour? The likes of Facebook
and Amazon are already committing to power purchase
agreements for renewable electricity, but the next move
needs to be valuing waste heat properly. It’s a resource that
can be recaptured and reused several times over and help to
significantly improve energy productivity.
After big weather events, we often see reports of energy
infrastructure being damaged and becoming unavailable
or running at a reduced capacity. Whereas keeping heat
or cooling in the ground is virtually impossible to destroy,
and with much of the infrastructure below ground, it offers
a lower risk of damage. And in terms of disaster response,
emergency responders increasingly depend on the data
network – having critical infrastructure at full service,
whether that be hospitals, fire and police stations or the
data network for those responders to coordinate across,
is lifesaving stuff. While many of these facilities will have
backup generators for power, thermal provision is often
overlooked. In a hospital where controlling the environment
is critically important, a reliable, resilient system is key.
So, as we step into this new world of augmented reality
and the Internet of Things, it’s important that we take a
moment to explore the new opportunities that this creates.
And as urbanisation continues it will be especially important
for those cities that are already struggling to meet the needs
of their inhabitants. If we encourage everyone to share
energy in this way, use can be optimised – meaning fewer
resources required all round. n
www.networkseuropemagazine.com