DATA CENTRES

of northern Europe , together with electricity from renewable sources such as wind and hydroelectricity , and high-quality connectivity , has seen mega data centres built in Denmark , the Netherlands , and under a mountain in Switzerland .

Jean-Sébastien Pelland is a director at UK-based Eland Cables , a supplier of cable solutions used to deliver renewable power projects . “ Large Tier 4 data centres are now being designed to be self-sufficient using turbines on wind farms to generate the required power . Solar farms can also generate clean , green power in locations where the built environment allows for the volume of panel arrays needed for the power generation ,” he says .

When you can ’ t count on the climate However , between 40 and 50 % of all the data centres in Europe are in the UK , and locations in the UK and the US don ’ t always have access to such resources .

Dennis O ’ Sullivan is the EMEA Data Centre Segment Manager at power management company Eaton . It researches and develops energy storage technology so that facilities can make more efficient use of their power supply .

He comments : “ Often the power supply to data centres is over-booked , but under-used which leads to huge amounts of energy going to waste . Introducing energy storage solutions into the operation of data centres means that energy can be stored for future use , when it is in high demand . If data centres can effectively manage energy to reduce wasted energy , huge cost savings can be reached without compromising sustainability .”

Keeping it cool England is encouraged by the advances that have been made in cooling technologies , and what this means for data centres ’ sustainability .

10 September 2017