Balancing climate change and digital growth – a fine line to walk

Two years ago in New York’s Union Square, the bright letters of a new climate clock counted down the critical time window remaining for humanity to take action and save the planet from a climate catastrophe. To remain under the crucial 1.5°C warming and prevent the worst effects of climate change from becoming irreversible, we were warned we had circa 7 years to switch from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives to keep C02 emissions in check. 

Fast forward to now and carbon emissions are still rising, profits made by oil and gas giants are soaring if we revisit the clock analogy, it currently stands at one minute to midnight - less according to many scientists. We’ve already seen first-hand evidence of what Antonio Guterres described in his opening COP27 speech as “climate hell”. So far this year southern US States were hit by powerful winter storms leaving millions without electricity, Antarctica reported a heatwave with temperatures some 70° higher than normal, parts of the UK and mainland Europe reached temperatures in excess of 40° and Pakistan experienced super floods because of severe monsoons and melting glaciers.

Data Centres are often the scapegoats of climate change challenges

Data Centres often find themselves at odds with environmental activists because this is where demands of digitalization and climate change clash. Relationships are not helped by the fact that data centre construction is growing exponentially to keep pace with global demand for seamless handling of data generated by people and machines. But this explosive growth is further amplifying their power usage and the knock-on effect this is having on the environment. Moreover, our data generation is only going to accelerate as IoT and other automated technologies gain momentum and this in turn is fuelling demand for localised data handling which means even more construction. 

In fact, it is predicted that around 125billion IoT devices will be in widespread use by 2025, all generating data, and all-consuming energy. What’s more, Gartner estimates that 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed outside centralised facilities within the same timeframe. In tandem, the global market for edge data centres is also expected to nearly triple to $13.5 billion. When you factor this in with the infrastructure changes and data processing requirements needed for smart cities, smart manufacturing, driverless vehicles etc, power consumption at these levels is simply unsustainable long term. Data Centre energy consumption needs addressing urgently and moving forwards it is fundamental that next generation data handling facilities are built to have minimal impact on the environment whilst having an extended shelf life, regardless of a changing climate.

Switching from fossil fuel to renewable alternatives does not solve the power dilemma

Whilst it’s true that the industry is transitioning from fossil fuel to renewables and replacing backup generator diesel fuel with biofuel alternatives, but their overall energy consumption is still going up which by default means c02 emissions are increasing also.

Data Centres need a viable means to reduce their overall energy consumption from the outset. Not only would this go a long way towards an optimized PUE, something that is coveted by all Data Centre providers, it would make for a much smaller carbon footprint. 

The answer to the industry’s power dilemma could be closer to hand than you might think thanks to a disruptive approach being championed by a UK firm, DataQube Global, which, if successful, has the potential to change the face of Data Centres. Built from the ground up by a team of experts who understand the impact next generation technologies are set to have on localised data handling long term, the firm has developed a modular solution that consumes 50%less energy and emits 50% less carbon compared to regular facilities.  

Designed with sustainability in mind

This is achieved through a unique design architecture and person-free layout, with the energy transfer dedicated solely to powering computers. The system’s efficient use of space combined with its optimized IT capacity also makes for a smaller physical footprint because less land, raw materials and power are needed. Moreover, modules are secured in place with reusable ground screws and not reinforced concrete which also has a high C02 emission rate per tonne.

With the critical infrastructure housed in data centres integral to everyday living, Data Centres need to rethink their layouts, not only to operate efficiently optimal PUE, but to meet proposed decarbonisation strategies, which are set to become mandatory for tier 1 enterprises by 2023. DataQube offers a viable means of making this possible and could be the lifeline needed.