Hydrogen from renewable sources is in short supply. While future plentiful supplies are planned, currently only a very small number of data centers are using hydrogen for standby power.
The UNEP U4E initiative has proposed guidelines for data center design and operation and server and storage product efficiency requirements. These have far-reaching implications for data center operations in developing countries.
Many organizations still do not tap into the potential power efficiency gains hidden in servers. Without operational focus on extracting those, future server platforms may bring marginal, if any, energy performance improvements.
The acceleration of data center energy consumption growth projections appears to threaten sustainability objectives. Instead, it demands a reinvigoration of efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the IT infrastructure through better system…
Raising supply air temperature is drawing interest from data center providers and regulators in some countries. While saving energy, it may also reduce resiliency. This report quantifies energy impacts to clarify when it can be beneficial.
Historically, data center waste heat recovery has been promoted with a focus on the benefits for the heat off-taker. And yet, the overall winner in most situations is the data center operator — even if they are not paid for heat.
Data center operators building new systems can choose from nine categories of cooling technology. Innovative cooling equipment has minimized energy and water use and the average PUE for air-cooled and water-cooled systems.
The Netherlands is now enforcing the energy saving obligation, suggesting they will also enforce EED energy management system and audit requirements. Data center operators need to establish a plan to optimize their energy performance.
The UK has become the latest nation to classify data centers as part of the critical national infrastructure. But for data center operators, is this a welcome move?
Some operators are using natural gas for on-site power where the local grid is constrained. This will increase their emissions — but gas is essential in the transition to renewable energy and operators’ use of it is best seen in this light.
As new capacity is concentrated in super-sized data centers and legacy facilities continue to operate in large numbers, market trends become more difficult to read. This report looks at how size affects the age distribution of capacity.
The European Database on Data Centres is operational, but EU member state processes to provide required IDs are still being finalized. Operators should begin the data submittal process as member state coordinator(s) are assigned.
Increasing supply air temperature is gaining interest as an approach to potentially save data center energy. However, savings will not be universally possible and understanding its potential involves a complex multivariable analysis.
Data center operators are already required to reduce their impact on the climate and soon they may have to do the same with local habitats. Emerging nature restoration rules will demand action to preserve ecosystems and biodiversity.
Hydrogen is a promising energy storage medium that can help decarbonize infrastructure. It is not a great fit for the majority of data centers, and the hydrogen economy is not fully developed.