Simultaneously resilient and sustainable Net Zero Data Centres

Thu 5 Nov 2020 | Susanna Kass | published at TECHERATI | Click here to read the full article

Over the last decade we have seen numerous individual technologies that improve energy efficiency. Now, we must create sustainable systems with them, writes Susanna Kass, Data Centre Advisor to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals program

Net Zero Data Centres are the next generation of sustainable data centres, forming the basis of clean energy infrastructure that is resilient, sustainable, and safe, as stated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

This approach requires a rethinking of a systems approach of how we design and build new data centres. The data centre industry will require thought leaders and pioneers who lead with ambition to reach a carbon pledge of net zero (carbon, emission, and waste) as described by the UN SDG goal #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

Net Zero Data Centres use renewable energy as the primary power source throughout their life cycles to meet the goal of transitioning to carbon neutrality in this era. The metrics that Net Zero Data Centres use consider all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions protocols during 24/7 operation, as well as the embodied carbon used in the production and transportation of capital goods used and demolished during a data centre’s life.

These include the removal of the use of generators and power conditioning equipment used in conventional design to regulate the frequency of the power from the grid source to power the IT computer rack of expensive servers, storage, and network equipment.

The overall energy and materials resources consumed, and waste that is reduced form the Impact Analysis of a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), according to the ISO standard and the GHG Protocol for a decarbonization pathway.

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