Tackling data centre sustainability

Leading consulting engineering firms i3 Solutions Group and EYP Mission Critical Facilities, Inc. (EYPMCF) are collaborating to offer a response to the climate crisis through Green House Gas (GHG) reduction initiatives for the data centre sector, including a practical roadmap of progressive GHG abatement for existing data centres and net-zero GHG data centres by 2030.

“As a major consumer of electricity and therefore a contributor to global emissions, the data centre sector faces the prospect of regulation to reduce its impact on the planet,” said Rick Einhorn, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner at EYPMCF. “I’m pleased to announce this initiative by EYPMCF and i3 Solutions Group which brings together a respected team of data centre MEP design engineers and operational consultants to offer thought leadership in data centre emissions and carbon reduction, efficiency and sustainability.”

Ed Ansett, Founder and Chairman of i3 Solutions Group said, “While the future of data centre sustainability undoubtedly has a 100% renewable face, we are a long way from that end point. However, there are opportunities for large data centre operators in hyperscale, wholesale, colocation and other sectors to engage in GHG abatement. This requires a paradigm shift, but the good news is, we can evolve from a GHG intensive, inefficient infrastructure to a reduced or even net-zero GHG asset with new revenue generating opportunities. For that to happen requires the inspiration of specialist data centre design and strategy.”

Those designing, building and operating data centres need to assimilate the technical considerations across a range of on-site power generation and energy storage solutions that practically address GHG abatement, evolving regulatory requirements and end-user

performance requirements, at the same time taking full advantage of renewable energy sources and sustainable technologies.

Accordingly, the collaboration between i3 and EYPMCF is developing objective material covering the following subjects:

· A practical roadmap toward GHG abatement and carbon net-zero data centres by 2030

· Low GHG energy trading opportunities for large scale data centres

· Demand side frequency and sag response, primary operation, and operating reserve opportunities for data centre embedded generation and storage systems

· GHG reduction with blended hydrogen and natural gas generation for data centres

· Reliability implications of primary and standby embedded generation and energy storage systems for data centres