Three strategies for the responsible development of data centres: cooling and energy efficiency for the future
4 minutes read
- With data centres’ energy demand rising because of artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, alternative energy and emissions offsetting are becoming essential.
Today, a sustainable strategy built on energy efficiency is no longer a consideration but a strategic and economic imperative. Faced with a landscape in which, according to the World Economic Forum, this infrastructure and transmission networks account for around 1% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions — a figure that could double by 2026 — and where the advance of AI will increase these centres’ energy demand by 160% by 2030 (Goldman Sachs), it is essential to rethink energy use and its environmental impact.
Energy efficiency, the use of alternative energy and emissions offsetting are pillars that not only reduce the carbon footprint, but also strengthen competitiveness and business resilience.
Key strategies for a sustainable operation
Adopting energy efficiency practices and alternative energy not only helps reduce the carbon footprint, it improves operational efficiency and reinforces competitiveness in a market that is ever more demanding on environmental criteria. Drawing on its experience, Vertiv, a developer of mission-critical IT solutions, has identified 3 key strategies for building energy efficiency technology into data centres in order to support not only corporate responsibility strategies but those that are profitable and generate competitive advantage:
1. Investing in energy-efficient cooling systems: Cooling can account for up to 40% of a data centre’s total energy consumption. Liquid cooling, by taking advantage of the superior heat transfer properties of water or other fluids, is not only up to 80% more efficient than traditional air cooling, it also significantly reduces the carbon footprint.
Example: Elea Data Centers, in Brazil, deployed hundreds of distribution units for liquid cooling in data centres dedicated to AI, achieving a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15 to 1.2 and consuming less energy than conventional methods.
2. Carbon use and offsetting: Taking advantage of the region’s natural assets to offset emissions is a direct route to net zero. Latin America and the Caribbean have the largest forest cover in the world, which makes carbon credit programmes and reforestation projects easier.
Example: Microsoft acquired 3.5 million carbon credits over 25 years to fund the restoration of Amazon and Atlantic forests, offsetting the emissions arising from the expansion of AI and from its data centre operations.
3. Seeking out alternative energy: Latin America’s primary energy mix already includes 25% alternative energy, and 59% of its electricity generation comes from those sources. The target is to reach 70% by 2030 (OLADE). That gives operators a strategic advantage in reducing dependence on fossil fuels and meeting corporate sustainability targets without sacrificing performance.
Example: Scala Data Centers, in Brazil, signed an agreement to buy renewable energy from two wind farms in Bahia, with 393 MW of installed capacity, tripling the energy available to its clients for more than a decade.
Technological solutions for sustainability
To manage the rapid growth of data centres in the region, infrastructure design and management must prioritise efficient technologies, such as:
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS): These key elements provide an “always on” hybrid energy solution that integrates alternative energy sources.
Modern UPS with dynamic grid support: these allow data centre operators to reduce or eliminate costly demand peaks by taking advantage of solutions such as solar power and energy storage.
Solar converters: these connect photovoltaic panels to the -48 VDC power loads used in telecommunications networks, providing a compact solution that allows telecommunications applications to use solar power reliably at sites both on and off the grid.
“Driving innovative solutions that optimise energy consumption and promote responsible waste management is part of a broader commitment to environmental and social responsibility, making sure that critical infrastructure is as efficient as it is respectful of its surroundings,” concluded Alex Sasaki, vice president of Vertiv Latin America.
About Vertiv
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centres, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv does business in more than 130 countries.