One area of computing that uses enormous amounts of energy are data centres. They have long been a really troublesome issue when it comes to impacting the environment. And, it is not only the server processing that takes energy, but the associated technology that is needed to ensure stable temperatures at these vast storage centres.
Unfortunately, pretty much ever business relies on computing in some form, so it is an area where any reduction in impacts is welcome.
Data centres can be likened to an ecosystem of computing facilities that contain many facets required to store and handle data. IDTechEx's latest report, ‘Sustainability for Data Centers 2025-2035: Green Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players’, unpacks efforts being made in the sector towards increased sustainability in response to the rising CO2 emissions from the development of AI.There are three types of data centres: enterprise, colocation, and hyperscale. Hyperscale data centres represent data storage on a gigantic scale – they are usually defined to contain at least 5000 servers and occupy huge amounts of physical space. Leading hyperscalers racing to make the most of AI's boom include Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon. All of these players have been proactive in making data centres more sustainable.
Over the past two decades, significant improvements have been made in the energy efficiency of cooling systems for example. Additionally, these hyperscalers have been leading supporters of novel renewable energy projects and emerging carbon dioxide removal technologies. As sustainability remains a key corporate priority for hyperscalers, there are many lessons to be learned about green data centre solutions.
IDTechEx's report covers the specific areas within data centres that require sustainable technologies to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and increase circularity and recyclability. Decarbonising power generation could be achieved by employing renewable energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, fuel cells, and batteries and energy storage, all of which are included within the report.
Another area ripe for impactful decarbonisation is low carbon construction using green concrete technologies. Also, carbon dioxide removal technologies that generate carbon credits can provide a CO2 offsetting solution for hard to abate indirect supply chain emissions.
Lowering both costs and emissions can be achieved with improved energy efficiency as operational costs are naturally decreased and less CO2 is produced.Low carbon power generation may become more appealing alongside the diminishing availability of electricity.
IDTechEx reports that a lack of electricity in some regions has led to new data centre construction being paused, meaning new players within the sector will need to actively begin employing means of acquiring electricity, such as through tariffs, purchasing power agreements, or microgrids. Fossil fuels are a well established and reliable power source that, unfortunately, come with a hefty climate price tag. In recent years, wind and solar power generation projects have consistently offered lower electricity costs than fossil fuel incumbents – illustrating the economic benefits of supporting sustainable solutions.
Despite data centres currently lacking regulatory pressure to decarbonise, the rise of AI and its growing computational impact on economies means the large carbon footprints of these centres will only continue to grow. With governments wanting to reduce carbon emissions to meet net zero by 2050 targets, regulations may emerge in the near future according to IDTechEx.
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