The Environmental Impact of Data Centres in the Digital Era

In an increasingly digitalised world, data centres are critical infrastructure supporting many online activities and services. These facilities store, process, and distribute vast amounts of data, enabling everything from social media to cloud computing – to become the backbone of the digital economy. However, their rapid growth and energy consumption pose significant environmental challenges.

Rise of Data Centres

Data centres have evolved from modest enterprise computing facilities to sprawling, electricity-intensive complexes. Digitalisation, high-speed wireless networks, new data-intensive technologies, and soaring demand for cloud services have driven this expansion. The potential growth in large-scale data centres and their associated electricity demand should be seen in the light of rapidly changing power systems with an increasingly larger share of variable renewable energy.

Energy Consumption and Carbon Footprint

Data centres are substantial consumers of electricity. They currently account for about 1-1.5 % of global electricity consumption, a figure projected to rise as digitalisation accelerates. In 2018, data centres consumed approximately 200 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, equivalent to the entire energy consumption of the United Kingdom for the same year. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that if current trends persist, energy consumption by data centres will double by 2030, reaching 4 % of global electricity demand.   

The energy used by data centres predominantly comes from non-renewable sources, contributing to a considerable carbon footprint. This reliance on fossil fuels produces substantial greenhouse emissions, contributing to climate change. The ICT sector, encompassing data centres, data transmission networks, and end-user devices, emitted between 1.0 and 1.7 gigatons of CO2 equivalent in 2020. This represents 1.8-2.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing the emissions of countries like Australia and France.   

The environmental impact of data centres extends beyond energy consumption and carbon emissions. These facilities also contribute to resource depletion and electronic waste. The production and disposal of servers and other IT equipment involve the exaction of rare minerals and the generation of electronic waste, which poses severe environmental challenges. According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020, the world generated a record 53.6 million metric tonnes of electronic waste in 2019, a 21% increase over five years.

Integration with Renewable Energy

One promising avenue for mitigating the environmental impact of data centres is their integration with renewable energy systems. An electricity sector relying mainly on renewables is the cornerstone of achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050. This integration helps reduce the carbon footprint and offers system benefits such as demand response and waste heat utilisation.  

Several studies have been carried out to estimate the total electricity consumption of the full spectrum of US data centres. Key strategies and technologies for increased efficiency in data centres have been reviewed extensively. For instance, power management techniques for data centres include strategies for increased integration of renewable energy sources. Integration opportunities via waste heat use or demand response have been explored, showing how data centres could facilitate the transition to renewable electricity.   

Several strategies can help mitigate the environmental impact of data centres: 

Energy efficiency: enhancing the energy efficiency of servers and cooling systems is crucial. Innovations in server technology, such as multi-node and blade systems, can increase power density and reduce energy consumption. Advanced cooling technologies, including liquid cooling and free-air cooling, can also significantly reduce energy use.  

Renewable Energy Adoption: transitioning to renewable energy sources is vital for reducing carbon emissions. Many data centre operators are investing in solar, wind, and hydroelectric power to meet their energy needs sustainability.   

E-energy waste management: Properly managing electronic waste through recycling and responsible disposal practices can ease environmental damage. The production and disposal of servers and other IT equipment involves the extraction of rare minerals and the generation of electronic waste, which poses a severe environmental challenge. Embracing a circular economy approach, where old equipment is refurbished and reused, can significantly reduce e-waste.   

Policy and regulations: Effective policies and regulations are essential to drive the integration of data centres with renewable energy systems. Supporting demand response, energy efficiency, and renewable energy adoption through policy measures can yield considerable societal benefits.

AWS and Energy Efficiency

Advancements in digital transformation and the adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are driving up global demand for data centre capacity. At the same time, there is growing interest in understanding the environmental cost of this demand and how the IT sector’s impact could be reduced overall. In this context, a study by Accenture, commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS), examined the energy efficiency and carbon reduction potential of moving customers’ workloads from on-premises to AWS and further optimising these workloads on AWS.   

On-premises IT infrastructure refers to hardware and software applications housed within an organisation’s physical space, contrasting with cloud assets. The study followed the ISO standard for Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) and analysed operational and embodied carbon emissions for simulated on-premises and AWS deployments.   

The findings were significant: running workloads on AWS was up to 4.1 times more energy efficient than on-premises setup. Moreover, optimising these workloads on AWS could reduce the associated carbon footprint by up to 99%. This reduction varied by region, with Europe seeing a 3.3 times improvement in energy efficiency and up to 99% reduction in carbon emissions, while Brazil saw a 4.1 times improvement and up to 96% reduction.    

AWS achieves these efficiencies through continual improvements across their data centres, from rack layout to cooling techniques. By optimising resource utilisation, minimising idle capacity, and leveraging purpose-built silicon like the AWS Trainium and AWS inferential chips, AWS can achieve significantly higher throughput and energy efficiency than traditional on-premises data centres.   

Data centres are indispensable to our digitalised society, but their growing energy consumption and environmental impact necessitate urgent action. By improving energy efficiency, adopting renewable energy sources, managing e-waste responsibly, and enacting supportive policies, the ICT industries can mitigate the environmental footprint of data centres. As digital transformation continues to advance, it is crucial to ensure that the development of data centres aligns with global sustainability goals.

Sources
The environmental cost of data centres is substantial, and making them energy-efficient will only solve half the problem (theconversation.com)  
Decarbonising data centres will shape the green transition (ft.com)  
Data centres & networks – IEA – International Energy Agency  
Revolutions Start With The Green Data Center (forbes.com)  
FootPrinter: Quantifying Data Center Carbon Footprint (acm.org)  
How Moving to AWS Can Help Lower Carbon Footprint  

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    We are a team of eco-conscious writers dedicated to exploring the latest innovations in sustainability and eco-friendliness. Through our passion for creating a better future for our planet, we aim to share informative and inspiring content that encourages more sustainable lifestyles and promotes eco-friendly practices.

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