The Path to a Greener Industry
DATA CENTRES
The Path to a Greener Industry
The four best ways to move your data centre in the right direction and source green energy , according to Digital Realty , one of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact signatories ,
1 . Buy Green : many local utility companies have an option to supply data centres exclusively green power . The more data centre operators that pursue this option , the more utility companies that will find new ways to meet the demand , lowering the overall grid ’ s dependence on fossil fuels . However , utility companies tend to charge premium rates for their green power mix , despite the fact that the energy is often cheaper for them to generate .
2 . Carbon Credits : easily the leastsustainable option , and one that has received widespread criticism for its practice of simply pushing the problem further down the road . Renewable energy certificates ( RECs ) are credits that a business can purchase from third parties ( sometimes government sponsored ) that invest the money into green technology research and carbon offset programs . It ’ s better than nothing , but the time for half measures is long past . buying the “ power and RECs produced by a wind farm , solar installation , or other renewable project at a fixed price , typically for a period of 10 to 25 years .” While most companies don ’ t consume enough energy to merit a power purchase agreement , which are rarely smaller than 20 MW , aggregate demand packages and power sharing cooperative agreements between consortiums of smaller operators are becoming increasingly common .
4 . Do it Yourself : the most direct route is for operators to take matters into their own hands , building on-site solar or wind powered energy capture infrastructure . Data centres typically need a lot more energy than can be generated onsite , so many operators that take this approach tend to combine it with one or more of the options above , using their in-house wind turbines of photovoltaic farms to supplement their supply , reducing their dependence on the grid .
3 . PPAs : many larger cloud and hyperscale data centre operators are opting for this approach , because of the high CapEx and the economies of scale needed to make it feasible . A direct power purchase agreement commits the operator to
48 April 2021