Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written by: Izzat Najmi, Journalist, AOPG.

The world is increasingly moving into the digital space, with the recent pandemic having accelerated this transition. With over half of the global population online, demand for data centres is on an upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.

In 2021, the number of internet users worldwide reached 4.9 billion. As of 2022, Eastern Asia has 1.2 billion internet users, with Southern and Southeast Asia reaching over 1.5 billion users alone.

This demand will only increase as we continue to see the proliferation of virtual reality, augmented reality, AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the ongoing shift to hybrid working. In fact, ENGIE’s Head of Data Centre Solutions, Southeast Asia, Wandrille Doucerain believes the market will continue to grow for numerous reasons and he does not foresee this growth stopping any time soon.

“The reality is that our current digital infrastructure is not able to keep up with the increasing data usage and the data monitoring needed in the near term. We are already seeing a rapidly growing population adopting edge computing and 5G, but we do not have enough data centres to support this growth,” Wandrille said.

While this demand is driving data centre proliferation globally, it is also putting stress on the environment. Data centres are heavy consumers of water and electricity. Their data processing is continuous, requiring them to run 24/7, 365 days a year. This consumes massive amounts of energy and generates a significant quantity of waste heat in the process that in turn requires high volumes of water to provide cooling. From powering to cooling, the drain on resources is immense.

It is estimated that data centre power consumption amounts to roughly 416 terawatts or about 3% of globally available electricity. In Singapore, 7% of total electricity consumption goes to data centres and this is expected to grow to more than 12% by 2030. Beyond this, the common solutions used by data centres for cooling put pressure on water systems, which poses an environmental concern.

Could More be Done?

Singapore’s commitment to supporting best-in-class carbon and energy efficiency technologies is clearly reflected in The Singapore Green Plan 2030. The Green Plan charts ambitious and concrete targets over the next 10 years and positions the country to achieve long-term net zero emissions aspiration as soon as possible. However, it takes two hands to clap — companies must meet the government halfway and do their part in helping the nation reach its sustainability goals.

Industry players are becoming more and more aware of the importance of reducing their carbon dioxide (CO₂) footprint — this awareness has supported the demand for more energy-efficient facilities and access to green energy.

But awareness is not the only challenge in the drive to make data centres greener. Truthfully, the road to decarbonisation is a complex journey that requires many stakeholders in the energy ecosystem to commit to making carbon neutrality a reality and a legacy for the next generation.

A 2020 study of 208 organisations in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia found that a lack of environmental awareness (71%), lack of investment (65%) and lack of collaboration from stakeholders (61%) were key challenges to making data centres more sustainable. It is clear that more needs to be done and data centre operators must adopt best practices across their entire energy value chain.

Thoughts on the “Green Data Centre” Initiative

Wandrille emphasised that sustainable data centres do exist. Quoting him, “They can and should become the industry standard.”

Green data centres have a critical role to play in the transition to a net zero carbon future. To create ‘green data centres’, sustainability considerations must be incorporated at every stage, from design to material purchasing, to implementation, up to production and supply of green energy.

For example, cooling needs to represent 35-40% of the total data centre energy demand. Operators need to consider investing in more efficient cooling solutions, such as district cooling and greener options for powering data centres, such as engaging in Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

Another important consideration that goes beyond a data centre’s design, build, maintenance and efficient green power supply, is integration. A data centre cannot be seen as an isolated asset anymore. Instead, it must be an open asset engaged in a two-way relationship with the grid and or neighbouring industry.

To be fully green, data centres must be able to leverage their waste energy to decarbonise their own assets and those of the communities they exist in, via heat reuse. For example, their waste heat can be captured, stored and channelled to benefit district heating and cooling projects, as well as fed back into the energy grids they are connected to.

With all the talk about green data centre initiatives, a prime question is often raised: Will the initiative lead to Singapore losing its status as the leading Data Centre Hub in Southeast Asia?

Wandrille does not believe that to be the case. He argues that on the contrary, this initiative will only fast-track advancements and help carve out a niche in the sustainable data centre space. The green data centre initiative could ultimately strengthen Singapore’s position as a leader in the industry.

To significantly decrease the CO₂ footprint of data centres, Singapore should not only look at new developments but also address its legacy assets, which account for its massive IT load of approximately 800 MW. What is currently being done in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency criteria for new greenfield projects must be adapted and implemented for existing data centre facilities, potentially leading to energy savings that can be massive for the country.

When Singapore’s three-year moratorium on new data centres is lifted, Wandrille believes that it will facilitate the calibrated growth of data centres that possess best-in-class technologies and practices for energy efficiency and decarbonisation.

“I expect to see continued strong demand in the country, with the benefit of cleaner and more efficient data centres to meet it,” he said.

Shaping the Future of Green Cloud Computing

The lack of a “one-size-fits-all” solution presents the greatest obstacle to the development of environmentally friendly data centres. It will be necessary to adapt solutions to the specific needs of individual users and the contexts in which they operate.

To enable green cloud computing, for instance, operators must employ a range of options to provide power to data centres that meet stringent environmental standards. Operators can get the full “green package” with optimal, hourly renewable energy matching through corporate PPAs, on-site renewable energy generation, and green backup/energy storage. However, there are circumstances when this is not always possible.

“I believe we can and must embrace existing and emerging digital technologies and find ways to adopt them sustainably. As digital technology will continue to influence the way we work, live, and play, data centres will form the foundation of our communities. The industry needs to work with sustainability partners within key sectors of renewable energy, energy solutions, efficiency, and research to address the challenges of decarbonisation and sustainability,” Wandrille emphasised.

It is an all-hands-on-deck approach, requiring both public and private sectors as well as data centre operators and solution providers to take pivotal actions to play their part in combating climate change.

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