Page 7 - Issue 1 2023

DATA CENTRES

Better partners, better world:

four data centre predictions for 2023

By Chris Pennington, director of energy and sustainability at Iron Mountain Data Centres

t the forefront of the digitalisation age and the human need for stronger,
faster connections to each other and our communities, data centres occupy a
Acrossroads in today’s interconnected world. With the market set to continue
its expansion in 2023, with some predicting growth of 7.5% and an accumulated value
of $200 billion by 2032, the prevalence of data centres in the efficient running of our
cities and communities is likely to expand too – along with the impact they have on the
environment.
As we enter a new year, operators and customers will be focusing their efforts,
in light of increasing concern around meeting decarbonisation targets, supply chain
instability and the ongoing energy crisis. From operational resilience in the face of
global energy scarcity and the anticipation of increasing ESG reporting regulation, to
climate-first cultural attitudes seeping into business priorities and community-led, big-
tech activism – outlined below are the top four data centre trends of 2023 that industry
players must be cognisant of.
Chris Pennington
Sustainable by design: building resilient data centres
This year has seen the sweeping impact of an energy crisis that has hit individuals
and businesses alike. A spate of concerning geo-political events and the scarcity and time when the energy supply chain is
soaring cost of fossil fuels, alongside the growing frequency of climate events, has unreliable, building sustainability into
unequivocally proven the need for investment in carbon-free energy to avoid future the data centre by design is a shortcut
energy crises and to mitigate climate change. In terms of what this means for data to ensuring long-term resilience.
centre providers, these events have added weight to the need to transition from being
carbon-intensive and part of the mass-consumption of natural resources, to carbon- The future of data centre
neutral and sustainable by design. power
In line with the guidance outlined by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Data centres are some of the biggest
(UNSDG) on future construction, builders of new data centres must be responsible energy buyers in infrastructure and
when it comes to extracting natural resources, both directly and indirectly, and aim following the ongoing disruption
to power facilities with energy from 100% carbon-free sources. Designers must seek of traditional energy supply lines,
ways to better manage waste streams and optimise asset and resource life cycles by it is critical that the sector works
transitioning away from single use designs, towards a model of recycling, reusing and collaboratively to decarbonise the
remanufacturing – thereby eliminating landfill impact and creating a perpetual life cycle international grids. Many data centre
for materials and equipment. providers are already well on the way
Energy efficiency is a function of good design and many of the newest and most to reducing demand for fossil fuels by
energy-efficient builds in the co-location industry are committed to the BREEAM green covering 100% of their annual electricity
building standards. Signatories, including Iron Mountain, to the Climate Neutral Data consumption with renewable energy
Centre Pact, for example, have made clear commitments to achieving low power purchases and in fact some, including
usage effectiveness (PUE), responsible water usage, and repurposing waste heat. Iron Mountain Data Centres, have
Furthermore, many data centres are now designing a modular approach to manage taken decarbonisation even further
megawatt scale growth with the intention of avoiding over-provisioning. Operators by committing to match their energy
would do well to consider the total cost of ownership (TCO) beyond the business cost consumption with local, clean energy
per megawatt installed, and re-think the status quo. They have an opportunity to each hour of every day by 2040.
carry forward the momentum that global challenges have inspired and take a holistic Meanwhile, investment in research for
view of the wider impact of their data centre construction and operations. During a alternative energy sources to provide

EngineerIT | Issue 1 2023 | 7