The Total Economic Impact™ of EcoStruxure™ for Data Centers
Discover the six-year financial impact of BMS and EPMS systems by Schneider Electric.
ECOSTRUXURE'S IMPACT FOR A COMPOSITE ORGANIZATION
0.5% to 0.6% reduction in annual downtime
Up to 39% productivity gain for data center operations staff
Up to 22.5% cost savings on utility expenses
Development cycles shortened by up to 6 months
BENEFITS (SIX-YEAR)
Improved time to revenue from design time efficiencies
Avoided SLA penalties from improved uptime
Improved DC operations team efficiency
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
"There is going to be one BMS that can navigate to all regions, all buildings, and all infrastructure, [providing] high level oversight for everything. It's a quality-of-life upgrade."
Utilities cost savings with EcoStruxure EPMS and BMS cost optimization Engineering Management Director,
Read the Forrester study
4. Incinerate to generate: Is EFW a viable baseload option for data centers
DCD takes a deep dive into Ark Data Centres' private wire PPA with London Energy’s Edmonton EfW EcoPark
10. Capturing carbon - Is DAC a perfect match for data centers?
DCD discusses DAC with Mission Zero CEO Dr. Nicholas Chadwick
12. On-site rooftop solar panels at data centers: Everything you need to know
What to consider when deploying rooftop solar at data centers
Powering a sustainable future
As data center energy requirements soar to cope with the highdensity racks that are becoming commonplace as part of AI infrastructure, the need to deploy sustainable solutions is greater than ever.
While lofty green goals are easy to commit to paper, turning them into reality is much trickier business, but one that data center operators must grapple with.
Even as the geopolitical situation means that sustainability measures are falling down the agenda in some countries, with the US in particular keen to lean heavily on natural gas as a power source, companies continue to take their environmental responsibilities seriously and striving to hit challenging net zero targets.
In this supplement we address technologies that could help data centers cut their carbon footprint.
Direct air capture, or sucking carbon directly from the atmosphere, is one increasingly popular sustainability option, with big names in the data center industry buying carbon credits from DAC firms or developing their own flavours of the technology.
One company that is marketing a form of DAC is UK-based Mission Zero Technologies. Its CEO, Dr. Nicholas Chadwick, spoke to Zach Skidmore about its system, its benefits and possible drawbacks. He contends that DAC “allows you to say with confidence: ‘This is exactly how much CO₂ we’ve removed, and here’s where it’s stored’.”
However, companies like Mission Zero may have to address the high up-front costs of developing DAC
infrastructure if the technology is to be widely adopted.
Elsewhere, Zach also took a trip to London Energy’s EcoPark Energy from Waste (EfW) facility which, as the name suggests, generates energy from rubbish.
Is this is a viable option for data centers? One operator, Ark, certainly thinks so, having signed a power purchase agreement in 2019 to offtake energy from the EcoPark directly to its nearby Meridian Data Center via a private high-voltage connection.
While some question EfW’s green credentials, its baseload generation profile is highly attractive to industries seeking reliable consistent power, such as data centers.
Solar panels are a wellestablished part of the renewable energy mix, and are seen on buildings large and small around the world.
When it comes to data centers, rooftop solar panels are far from universal, not least because, as Dan Swinhoe explains in his feature, data center rooftops are often crowded places, featuring myriad pieces of plant and cooling equipment.
But that doesn’t mean that rooftop solar is not being rolled out in some data center environments. For new builds particularly, integrating some degree of solar panels is becoming commonplace among the big players, though for retrofit projects it can be more tricky. For his article, Dan speaks to companies who have undertaken rooftop solar projects of various sizes to discover some of the key considerations for fitting a new installation.
The contents of each bag are highly variable, as no additional sorting takes place before combustion. This leads to, on occasion, foreign objects finding themselves in the furnaces, including batteries, propane tanks, and even car parts, which has led to on occasion combustion within the furnaces, which the control room team tells DCD create quite the light show. We saw no such fireworks on our visit.
In order to mitigate the emissions, a dedicated control room is on hand. This is where the digital world meets the analogue workings of the plant, with the control room decked out with numerous monitoring systems which help mitigate harmful emissions. They include electrostatic precipitators that use an electric charge to attract the dust particles generated by the flue gas and further filtering before the gas is released from the chimney stack.
Despite the plant being designed primarily as a waste disposal facility, its role as a power generation asset has grown in importance, following the spike in energy prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While EfW has long held the reputation of a “dirty” fuel source, its baseload generation profile is highly attractive to industries seeking reliable consistent power, like data centers. One company to recognize EfW potential as a primary power option is Ark Data Centres, which in 2019 signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to power its nearby Meridian Park data center via a private high-voltage connection directly from London Energy's EcoPar.
DCD was granted a guided tour of both facilities by Kyran Barker, head of the energy center at London Energy, and Pip Squire, Ark's head of sustainability.
Energy from Waste
The Ecopark converts waste into energy through a simple process, burning black bag waste to generate saturated steam, which is superheated to 450°C. This steam powers five turbines operating in an n+1 configuration, always having one extra generator available for redundancy, with a total generating capacity of 40MW.
The generated electricity is fed into a high-voltage copper busbar, with 15
"The EfW plant provides a predictable, baseload power supply—waste is always being processed, and the plant is always generating electricity.”
>> Pip Squire Head of sustainability, Ark Data Centres.
percent of the generation used to power the plant's operations and the remaining 85 percent exported via four output cables. Two cables feed into the UK power grid, while the other two - dubbed Ark 1 and Ark 2 - deliver electricity via a private wire connection directly to the Ark facility located right next door.
A direct power source
Commissioned at the end of 2020, The Ark Meridian Park data center is a colocation facility offering 16MW of IT load. It serves one undisclosed hyperscale customer, as well as Ark’s Crown Hosting joint venture with the UK government.
According to Pip Squire, Ark had a long-term interest in powering a data center from an EfW plant, viewing it as a novel and reliable alternative to a gridconnected facility. Ark initially considered another unnamed EfW plant but was unable to secure land adjacent, leading to the decision to build the Meridian facility after a plot of land right next door to the Edmonton EcoPark came onto the market.
Described by Squire as a "unique opportunity," the proximity of land so close to the plant offered Ark an unusually direct energy source, which factored directly into the planning of the facility.
Before committing to the development of the data center, Ark signed a 25-year PPA with the EcoPark for 22MW of power, in which the export cables would be built in conjunction with the data center construction, ensuring the data center had a direct power connection prior to its opening.
The two lines from the EfW plant stretch 50 meters underground to the data center, connecting to an external switchboard just outside the main data center building, delivering power at 11kV before being stepped down to 400V for
distribution. The dual wire setup provides an A and B supply, each capable of handling the entire data center load.
This arrangement stands out for several reasons. Firstly, the length of the PPA, with the majority of PPAs within the data center sector typically lasting between 10-15 years. Secondly, unlike many PPAs where the offtaker is purchasing credits linked to the power source rather than the power itself, the private wire setup ensures that the power generated by the plant feeds the data center. This eliminates concerns over whether the data center is directly supplied with power from the source, a common issue with grid-based PPAs.
This, Squire emphasizes, leads to increased reliability. "The EfW plant provides a predictable, baseload power supply—waste is always being processed, and the plant is always generating electricity. That's a big advantage compared to relying solely on the grid, where fluctuations can happen," he says.
Ark also invested in a 25MW backup grid connection from UK Power Networks (UKPN) to underpin the energy security of the data center. Squire explained why, stating: "We built contingency plans because of the age of the existing plant. Even though it has an A and B supply and n+1 generator backup, we knew we needed a reliable failsafe. So we invested in a 25MW UKPM connection as an additional backup."
Ark invested in several AVKproduced hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) generators capable of sustaining operations for up to two hours to add a further level of security. This is because the UKPM connection and EcoPark private wires have differing transmission resistances and fault tolerances, requiring a complete disconnection to prevent system failures.
however, will be rather tricky, according to Squire. Once online, Ark plans to disconnect one supply at a time, replace the cable with a shorter connection, and repeat the process for the second supply.
One bonus of the new plant will be its proximity to the data center, necessitating a shorter private wire, which should reduce transmission losses and improve energy efficiency. In addition, the new plant promises greater efficiency and is less likely to require maintenance, which would require regular shutdowns, which is more common with the current plant.
Sustainable or damaging?
While there is little doubt about the efficacy of EfW as a baseload power option for data centers, a question remains over whether it is truly as "sustainable" as its proponents suggest.
Squire accepts that EfW should not be compared to renewable energy such as solar and wind but argues in comparison to fossil fuels, it is "low-carbon" and plays a crucial role in processing unrecyclable waste, diverting it from landfills.
However, burning household waste releases several harmful gases, including nitrogen oxides. A BBC report from last year claimed that EfW is now the dirtiest form of energy generation in the UK, producing the same amount of greenhouse gas for each unit of energy as coal power -720gCO2e/kWh in 2023.
Burning plastics, especially singleuse plastics, is a key reason behind the high carbon footprint. According to UK government statistics, burning plastic produces 175 times more CO2 than burying it in landfills. The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) rebuffed the BBC report, saying that while it raised important points, it omitted “a number of key factors," including its vital role in moving the UK away from using landfills.
In addition, the CIWM argued that the first function of these plants is waste and management service, "to manage, treat and dispose society's wastes in order to protect human health and the environment," rather than as solely an energy supplier, meaning that comparing it to coal, which only utility is power is simplistic at best.
Paradoxically, as recycling rates
improve and single-use plastics are phased out, the calorific value of waste fuel will decline. This will mean more must be burned to sustain the same heat level, requiring significantly more fuel. In some ways, this is good, as the incineration capacity of the plant grows. However, it could also lead to high emission levels. This, Barker argues, will have to factor into long-term energy planning, which reflects the change in fuel sources.
To mitigate emissions, carbon capture and storage has been floated as a potential solution. If utilized, it could remove atmospheric carbon rather than merely offset fossil-based emissions because modern waste contains biogenic carbon, potentially making EfW a carbon-negative process.
The deployment of onsite CCS is a potential option for London Energy, as following decommissioning, there will be a large plot of land available on site, which Kyran Barker said could potentially house a carbon capture unit. However, there are no firm plans in the docket as of yet.
Is EfW a viable alternative for data centers?
As the UK faces increasing transmission constraints and grid instability, data center operators are being forced to consider their power options. Private wire agreements like Ark's provide both cost and supply security, and unlike gridbased PPAs, where power is shared with
countless consumers, it ensures that the electricity generated by the asset directly serves the contracted facility.
EfW plants within the UK have been nascent over the past two decades; however, they have begun to proliferate over the past five years, growing from 38 to 52. As a result, data center providers have an increasing opportunity to access power through these plants, potentially offering an emerging energy solution for those wishing to obtain a direct power supply.
While the UK EfW sector has grown significantly, it still lags behind Europe. Squire says this is, at least in part, a marketing problem: "In countries like Denmark and Sweden, EfW plants are integrated with district heating networks,” he says. “Here, they're still often viewed as 'incinerators' rather than efficient energy sources."
The taboo surrounding EfW remains strong, given its relatively high carbon footprint; however, the appeal of alternative energy solutions within the data center sector is growing significantly. With its combination of baseload power, long-term price stability, and security against grid fluctuations, EfW is positioning itself as a viable alternative for power-hungry data centers. While questions about sustainability remain, advances in carbon capture and waste processing could further improve its environmental impact, making it a power source worth watching in the evolving energy landscape.
How software is driving decarbonization in data centers
What role does software play in helping to mitigate the impact of AI in terms of speed to market, sustainability and cost?
The data center industry is at a crossroads. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is driving a surge in demand for data center infrastructure, with training and deploying AI models requiring huge computational power and storage. Indeed, one estimate is that power demand from data centers will increase 50 percent by 2027 and by as much as 165 percent by the end of the decade.
At the same time, data centers are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their sustainability credentials. Though there are some efforts to simplify and harmonize various reporting requirements, the current landscape for sustainability regulations is dynamic and varies between regions.
For example, the Energy Efficiency Directive in the EU aims to promote energy efficiency across various sectors, including data centers. Other notable regulations in the EU include the Corpo-
rate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and the EU taxonomy law.
In the US on the other hand, there is currently no single, overarching federal law that specifically targets data center sustainability. However, the US is making moves towards a more regulated environment, driven by both state-level actions and federal initiatives like the SEC's proposed climate-related disclosure rules, as well as potential changes to the
AndreyPopov/Getty Images
Energy Independence and Security Act.
“Even in a dynamic regulatory environment, reporting transparency, visibility, and real-time data acquisition are going to be critically important,” says Steven Brown, vice president, Digital Energy Solutions, Schneider Electric. “There’s going to continue to be a heavy burden to provide the right level of reporting and visibility into data center operations going forward.”
And this pressure on data centers for transparency and improved operational efficiency doesn’t just stem from changing regulations, it’s coming from the utilities too:
“Utilities are a key stakeholder motivating data centers to be more efficient and reliable,” explains Brown. “There’s a power crunch in nearly all major markets where there’s simply not enough power available. So, if you’re not able to work with that utility on grid interactivity, flexibility – or at least becoming a very efficient data center, including meeting certain PUE criteria – you’re not going to be able to move quickly to get more power as a data center provider.”
A single system to drive cost efficiencies
As a result, visibility into your data center operations has never been more important. Here, Brown advocates connecting the physical and the digital for the biggest impact, and to source the most actionable data. Specifically, he says, data centers should consider integrating their electrical and mechanical infrastructure into a single unified system, accessed via a single pane of glass.
“This approach links building management systems (BMS), electrical power management systems (EPMS), and data center infrastructure management (DCIM) into a single system to glean insights across these domains,” explains Brown. “This combined system can lead to significant efficiency savings in operations.”
As an example, Brown points to Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure™ suite of integrated hardware and software solutions, which are designed to optimize the performance, efficiency, and reliability of data centers. Customers have experienced savings on utility expenses of up
to 22.5 percent, alongside other benefits such as streamlining their data center design and commissioning process, improving their operational efficiency, and gaining enhanced insights into their data center performance.
Deploying CFD for data center optimization
Digging into the component software parts, Brown says using design and build software to simulate and understand materials and design choices is crucial. This includes modeling the airflow of the data center using a combination Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
A combination of simulation software and computer power, CFD is able to construct mathematical models to generate visual simulations of fluid processes, enabling engineers to make better decisions across a range of scenarios. This can also assist in the optimization of design parameters, reduce project costs and risk, as well as improve regulatory compliance and long-term performance.
“Using CFD, you can make the right trade-offs and optimize for efficiency and sustainability going forward,” says Brown, who highlights the fact that CFD is not only useful during the design phase but also in the operational phase. “You can use CFD day in, day out, to manage your optimization, to chase down hot spots in the data center to make sure that you’re running it as efficiently as possible.”
Additionally, CFD plays a critical role in retrofitting older data centers. “Especially as hybrid data centers utilizing both air and liquid cooling solutions become more common, it is essential to simulate the impact of a retrofit and how much latent heat you still must remove,” affirms Brown.
AI use case: Harnessing data
Of course, operators need to be able to harness that data effectively. This is a valuable emerging use case for AI, says Brown.
“Being able to extract reams of data and make it intelligible and interesting is a great use case for AI,” he says. “We can apply AI to extract key insights from the data, such as the rate of aging of an asset based on environmental and operational
conditions. If you bring that into a model like we have with EcoStruxure, you can really understand how healthy your assets are. Can you extend the life of them? And how do you optimize performance?”
Another useful example Brown highlights is the management of alarms:
“I don’t think anything resonates for data center operators more than alarm storms. In any situation where the utility has gone down and a generator has come online, and everything’s worked as expected, you still are going to have a cascade of alarms. That can be very difficult on data center operators. So, one of the interesting things that we’re doing at Schneider Electric is intelligent alarming.
“This is understanding the interconnectivity of data center systems and how alarms might cascade, clarifying critical events for data center operators to really simplify what the alarms look like. We then seamlessly move that into the data center operator’s workflow, so they know if an alarm is being managed and handled, or if it’s still outstanding and there may be some concerns.”
Together, the EcoStruxure IT suite, EcoStruxure Building Management Operation, and EcoStruxure Power – Schneider Electric’s suite of power monitoring solutions – Brown believes that data center operators can meet their efficiency goals, whether they are related to cost, energy or operations.
With the increasing energy demands of data centers, these groundbreaking software solutions allow organizations to identify and address energy inefficiencies, prevent downtime, and reduce operational costs.
To find out more about how EPMS and BMS software can help save you time, reduce costs and maximize efficiency, check out ‘The total economic impact™ of Schneider Electric EcoStruxure for Data Centers, a Forrester Consulting study’ here
Chadwick argues that if scaled correctly, the technology could mirror the learning curve seen in traditional renewables.
“Every system we install teaches us something new, and that learning feeds into the next iteration,” he says.
Mission Zero’s
approach
To achieve cost reductions and streamline deployment, Mission Zero is approaching DAC differently from many other providers.
Chadwick says that, unlike most DAC systems that run on a batch process, Mission Zero’s electrochemical solution operates continuously through a solvent loop, enabling simultaneous CO2 capture and regeneration, something which he believes offers greater efficiency. In focusing on the regeneration process, Mission Zero believes it can significantly reduce costs, as this is where most energy and cost burdens lie.
The company claims this innovation also reduces operational costs, and makes the technology more scalable and accessible across industries – not just for those with large upfront capital.
To achieve further cost reductions, the firm has strategically designed its system to use off-the-shelf industrial components, such as cooling towers and electrochemical cells, ensuring that scaling does not depend on new manufacturing capacity. These measures, Chadwick claims, will support Mission Zero’s goal to be one of the most costeffective DAC solutions available on the market by 2030.
In order to support deployment, the role of robust partners is of paramount importance. Chadwick contends that partnering with organizations such as Deep Sky - where Mission Zero has deployed a first-of-a-kind electrochemical demonstration plant - in Canada, who understand the regulatory landscape and have firm financial backing, will allow for smooth integration of the technology.
DAC will need strong and reliable customers going forward if it is to move
its technology from demonstrator to mainstream solution. It is here where the data center sector could play a significant role.
DAC and data centers
For Chadwick, the convergence of data centers and DAC could be mutually beneficial.
Data centers are amongst the largest consumers of electricity, requiring large cooling and HVAC systems to maintain operations. These facilities process enormous volumes of air, often resulting in CO2-enriched indoor environments, aligning naturally with DAC’s airprocessing capabilities.
Additionally, data centers typically have high-volume green electricity connections through PPAs and on-site generation, which could play a crucial role in offsetting DAC’s high energy costs. Finally, waste heat generated by data centers could be repurposed to improve DAC efficiency.
Chadwick claims these factors make the colocation of DAC on data center sites a compelling opportunity, especially for developers with lofty sustainability goals. Therefore, in cases where data center expansion outpaces the availability of clean energy, DAC offers an immediate and quantifiable method of carbon removal.
First mover advantage
Data centers that invest the earliest in the technology could benefit the most, says Chadwick. "If you wait until removals are cheap and abundant, you might find yourself at the back of the queue," he warns. As a result, early adopters will secure priority access to affordable carbon removal as costs decline.
Data center firms have heeded that warning. Microsoft, for instance, has already made substantial investments in DAC credits, including a ten-year offtake agreement with DeepSky for 10,000 tons of CO2 removal credits. In addition, Meta has committed to developing its own DAC technology to scale across its data center fleet.
In comparison to other carbon removals, data centers can potentially integrate the technology directly into data center infrastructure, which Chadwick believes “can achieve verifiable and durable carbon removals.”
It is here where Mission Zero’s differentiated deployment model comes into play.
Differentiated business model
Mission Zero is approaching the carbon removal market with a unique business model, avoiding the traditional carbon credit system where firms build, own, and sell credits.
Instead, it sells DAC technology directly, allowing for faster deployment, risk-sharing with operators, and accelerated learning cycles. Chadwick argues that by focusing on technology rather than vertical integration, the company can scale more efficiently and adapt to various industrial applications. With deployments spanning multiple sectors, including sustainable aviation and low-carbon concrete production, Mission Zero hopes to prove that DAC can integrate seamlessly into different industrial settings.
The company's ultimate goal is to create a cost-effective, widely deployable solution. "It can’t remain a premium product forever—the faster we lower costs, the sooner carbon removal becomes a mainstream climate solution," says Chadwick.
Chadwick contends that this has set a precedent for other firms to follow, with the early adopters not merely purchasing offsets but funding the development and scaling of the technology.
The attraction for data center firms is only expected to increase as data centers continue to seek ways to mitigate their carbon footprint.
As a result, the intersection of DAC and data centers represents one of the most exciting frontiers in carbon removal technology.
As AI-driven energy demand skyrockets, the need for verifiable, permanent carbon removal solutions will only grow. Mission Zero’s differentiated approach to DAC, coupled with the forward-thinking sustainability strategies of major tech companies, suggests that this technology could begin to play a significant role in data centers' decarbonization strategies moving forward.
Mission Zero Technologies co-founders, from left, Nicholas Chadwick, Gaël Gobaille-Shaw, and Shiladitya Ghosh
On-site rooftop solar panels at data centers: Everything you need
to know
What to consider when deploying rooftop solar at data centers
WSwinhoe Senior Editor
hile not a de facto choice –especially for large hyperscale facilities – on-site solar is growing in popularity as companies look to boost their green credentials and save money against high energy costs. Operators large and small have deployed solar panels to the rooftops of their facilities. But what do companies need to know when looking at deploying rooftop solar?
Dan
Nlighten, Milton Keynes
On-site solar getting its time in the light
European operator Penta Infra has solar PV deployed at around half of its sites – a mix of rooftop and facade, both integrated and retrofitted – with more in the planning pipeline. Stijn Daniels, chief development officer at Penta Infra, said the company is adding solar where it makes sense, to the point where it is becoming fairly standard within its energy portfolio.
“In Dusseldorf, we have an office building where the roof was end of life,” he says. “Now we have a new roof that we're going to place solar panels on. But in Amsterdam, where we are basically renovating a very old data center, there's just no space on the roof. We're fully building it out for the chillers, and there’s no space for solar on the facade.”
Nlighten, another European operator, currently has one rooftop solar deployment at its Milton Keynes site in the UK. The company completed the 4,500 sqm (48,437 sq ft) rooftop replacement retrofit in November 2023 in partnership with Ithaca Roofing and Bauder. The site features more than 1,000 panels, able to generate up to 500kW.
“As a large footprint single-story
building, it was an ideal platform for us to trial a solar project for one of our data centers,” says Francesco Marasco, VP energy operations and sustainability at nLighten. “We had already identified the site as one where we planned a progressive build-out project, and replacing the existing original aging roof made sense as a first step before improving the interior and M&E of the site.”
Nlighten says there have been periods when the solar panels have covered the entire needs of the facility “for several minutes of the day.” The company says it is currently considering other options for solar PV – in some cases for larger deployments – but is yet to make any further decisions.
Equinix deployed a 1MW rooftop solar system at its ME1 facility in Melbourne, Australia, in 2024. The company has another 800kW of solar across its other Aussie sites. The colo giant also has rooftop solar at sites in other countries, including its PA13x facility in Paris, France.
Rooftop solar can be found at data centers all over the world, including at those operated by Yondr, Stellium, and Iomart in the UK; Prosoluce and Denv-R in France; AirTrunk in Malaysia; NextDC in Australia; Meta and Singtel in Singapore; Aruba in Italy; Digital Realty in India; and Orange in Poland, Romania, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
Digital Realty currently has 19 sites hosting behind-the-meter solar installations totaling 9.8MW capacity. The company tells us it has an “additional roadmap to continue to grow, with additional projects in the planning or construction stage.”
Most of the company’s deployments are fairly small, often in the 100kWrange and covering less than 1 percent of a facility’s load. That figure can go as high as 20 percent in Kenya at its icolo facilities, though these are relatively small in terms of overall capacity. The company also has deployments in markets in Europe and in Singapore. In South Africa, its Teraco unit has approximately 6MW of rooftop solar across its sites in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban.
“[Solar] is certainly an important consideration,” says Aaron Binkley, VP, sustainability at Digital Realty. “It's a key part of our approach on building, powering, and operating sustainable data centers.”
Iron Mountain’s 830,000 sq ft (77,109 sqm) NJE-1 facility, a former New York
Times printing facility in Edison, New Jersey, was retrofitted with a rooftop solar in 2020. At the time Iron Mountain said the 7.2MW system – which it claimed was the largest such deployment at a data center globally – would cover around 15 percent of the 30MW site’s needs.
The company tells us the installation generates more than 9 million kWh annually, but concedes such a setup it isn’t practical in every market. It has signed distributed solar deals in markets such as London and Amsterdam in lieu of rooftop projects.
Solar in retro-fits vs newbuilds
Integrating solar panels in the design of new purpose-built data centers is obviously much easier than retrofitting to an existing facility. With new builds, operators can ensure PV systems are optimized to generate the most energy; with retrofits, operators are trying to build around existing critical plant infrastructure.
“With legacy sites, there are bigger wins from doing other sustainabilityled projects; looking at the efficiency of the systems and types of cooling or UPS,” suggests Richard Clifford, director of solutions at data center consultant Keysource. “But the best time to deploy solar is when you're upgrading some of the electrical infrastructure, and then you can make some changes or refresh.”
In Digital’s most recent development in Australia, solar was built in from the start. But the company isn’t afraid of a retrofit.
“All of our solar in Singapore was built on operating data centers,” says Binkley. “Some of our projects in Australia are new construction, but others were retrofits on existing buildings.”
He notes that in certain locations, such as Australia and Singapore, solar is becoming part of the company’s standard design.
Orange, Romania
Penta Infra
“The use of space now and in the future is an aspect that needs to be considered when evaluating a building retrofit project,”
>>Francesco Marasco, nLighten Teraco, South Africa
“The way we've been focusing on it has been how do we increase adoption and portfolio coverage?” says Binkley, “Even if it's a small system, how do we build our experience and build the standardization so that we can build it out across more sites over time?”
He continues: “We might say we want all new development projects in one market to include solar. And then we can build that in as part of our design, and maybe we can redesign the cooling equipment so there's more rooftop space to accommodate solar. That could be an example of how we would massage our designs to accommodate more solar in a market where it's attractive.”
Space is the biggest consideration when looking at rooftop solar. Many data centers feature large amounts of plant equipment, such as chillers and generators, on the roof, meaning there is simply not the space to justify a solar deployment. And those that do today, might not in the future if the operator has any desire to expand capacity and add more chillers.
Integrating panels into the design of a new build means the solar system and other plant equipment can be placed and oriented in a way that is optimized.
Data centers have far greater cooling requirements than other industrial buildings, says Anthony Maguire, managing director of energy consulting firm Longevity Power, which means more HVAC equipment on the roof. Including solar PV at the planning stage ensures that there is adequate roof space for solar panels, and also minimizes localized shading from external ducts and other features. He also notes solar panels can increase the thermal load of a roof, so it’s important to carefully model the installation in advance.
“Data centers must prioritize space for essential chillers and generators to function effectively,” notes Chris Pennington, Iron Mountain’s director of energy and sustainability. “Only after these systems have been allocated sufficient room for current and future needs should solar panel installation be considered.”
“The use of space now and in
the future is an aspect that needs to be considered when evaluating a building retrofit project,” warns nLighten’s Marasco. “With newbuilds, the positioning of the M&E equipment is optimised on a blank canvas. In a refurbishment, the use of space is somewhat constrained by the building footprint, plant location, and building orientation.”
“Once an organisation has determined if they have the required roof space for solar panels, they must then assess if this will pose any physical risk to the site,” says Pennington. “Installing solar panels often requires roof penetrations to secure them to the building. These holes should not be made over data hall areas, as they may increase the risk of roof leaks.”
Key considerations for putting in solar
Weight is a consideration for any rooftop solar deployment. Solar PV systems add around 3-6 lbs per square foot to the dead load of a roof – with a single panel often weighing some 40 pounds or more – and up to 45 lbs at specific attachment points. If a ballasted system is installed on a flat roof, it may add up to 20-30 lbs per square foot. Light-weight options are available – such as panels from perovskite – but aren’t as common and are often costlier.
There are two main ways to fix a PV system to a flat roof; ballasted or mechanical. A ballasted system weighs the panels down to the roof, while a mechanical system is fixed either by penetrating the roof or bonding with the roof membrane with bitumen.
“Roof leaks can be a concern where you have to penetrate the roof,” says
Longevity’s Maguire, “Even if the PV panel didn't cause the roof leak, it can be harder to identify and access the roof leak if there's panels on the roof.”
While most new and/or purposebuilt facilities should be able to handle the extra weight of some solar panels, repurposed buildings converted to data center use might not be as able to take the strain. Some reports suggest that up to 40 percent of commercial buildings are unable to take the weight of rooftop solar.
UK operator Ark recently told DCD it has rooftop solar on all but one of its facilities; the odd-one out is the company’s Meridian Park facility near Tottenham in North London. That site was a retrofit of a former sofa warehouse and the roof wasn’t able to handle the weight.
Digital Realty’s Binkley also notes the company has had some projects on older buildings that were converted to data centers and acquired over the years, where the company would not put solar on portions of the roof because of weight constraints. But he adds most roofs are more robust, especially on newer facilities, and space is the primary challenge.
Beyond weight, orientation is important to ensure the panels generate the most amount of energy. In the northern hemisphere, for example, panels will generally want to face south to get the most out of the sun.
Shadows are also a factor to consider; will trees, other buildings, louvres, or plant equipment potentially shade some of the panels during the day? If so, companies should either consider a change in deployment, or add optimizers – which can increase the costs.
A big factor on keeping deployment solar panels where they should be is adequately preparing for wind sheer. A developer needs to carry out a wind load assessment prior to construction to understand the additional load that is needed to keep the solar PV secure on the roof. The stronger the wind in the area, the stronger (and weightier) the fixing are likely to be.
Solar deployments can last as long as 20 years, says Maguire. When it comes to
Singtel, Singapore
a refresh cycle, he says efficiency gains from new generations of solar panels are likely to be in the low single-digit percentage, but costs are likely to be lower.
Delivery, safety, and maintenance
Actual installation of the panels is relatively quick – most deployments can be done in a few weeks.
“It becomes a construction project at a live data center,” says Digital’s Binkley. “And there are significant considerations to ensure that that does not impact operations or customers, but that's no different than any other construction activity at the data center.”
Most operators will outsource the maintenance of an on-site solar system to a third party. The cleaning regime of panels will vary depending on the market – dusty or dirty air means more cleaning, more rain means less cleaning – but once or twice a year is standard practice to keep them operating at higher efficiencies.
Solar systems can connect to base building systems or be connected directly to the main electrical bus for a campus, but it’s important to consider how this additional power source can be disconnected or isolated when needed.
“There are protective relays, breakers, and fuses throughout the system so that if anything does malfunction or shortcircuit it will disconnect from the rest of the system and/or the building,” says Digital’s Binkley. “If there is an issue, there are alarms, flags, notifications that will trigger alerts to our building teams to ensure that they take action promptly.”
Longevity’s Maguire notes there needs to be adequate capacity on the host building’s main electrical distribution board, alongside adequate space in its meter room to accommodate a separate distribution board for the solar PV system.
“Don’t forget to include rooftop access in your plans,” he adds. “Being able to get up on the roof is often overlooked but makes operating and maintaining the solar panels up there much easier.”
Fire safety is a common topic when deploying solar. A 2022 report from the Edinburgh Fire Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh suggests the annual fire incident frequency for solar deployments is 28.9 fires per gigawatt of capacity.
Georgia-Pacific Building Products warns the main potential ignition source from rooftop PV panels comes from electrical failure. This causes high-
“With legacy sites, there are bigger wins from doing other sustainability led projects; more efficient cooling ups, etc,”
>>Richard Clifford Keysource.
Equinix, Australia
voltage electrical arcing that can cause surrounding materials, such as the waterproof layer, to ignite.
Longevity’s Maguire says, however, the biggest risk of malfunction and risk of fire is improper installation.
“It's very rare that you would have just a spontaneous fire that wasn’t down to some kind of flaw in the installation,” he says. Because of this, final acceptance by an independent certified body should seen as be mandatory to ensure the installation has been done properly. The Netherlands has an inspection scheme for solar arrays called Scope 12 to certify the quality of installation.
Essential or a nice to have?
For any sizable data center, rooftop solar is unlikely to cover a large portion of a facility’s energy needs. Most solar deployments are in the hundreds of kilowatts (kW), compared to megawatts of demand per data hall at today’s hyperscale facilities.
A CBRE report from 2022 suggested an 800kW system would require around 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sqm) and could produce up to 1.6GWh of electricity per year in the Southwestern US, or around 900,000MWh in the Pacific Northwest. Costs will vary, but a 2MW solar deployment might cost more than $1 million.
So why bother? The answer depends on the company. Some like the sustainability story, and take the view that every little helps. In some markets, on-site generation is a necessity if a
company wishes to get a facility through the planning process. And, at a time of increasing energy costs, every penny counts.
“On-site solar power is one of the lowest-cost sources of clean energy but can have some limitations,” says Iron Mountain’s Pennington. “The biggest limitation of solar power is that the volume of energy it produces is often not equal to the site’s total electricity consumption.”
He continues: “While space constraints often limit on-site solar's ability to fully power data centers, its growing economic appeal suggests it could increasingly be required as part of construction and permitting processes in some markets.”
Keysource’s Clifford says the company is currently working on a project in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester – likely Datum’s new facility which was granted planning permission in 2023.
“I think everybody considers it, certainly in the design stages,” he says. “A lot of the time it is deployed, either because it's a condition of planning approval, or to be seen as making green decisions.”
“I don't think anyone's doing it because it's saving anyone money on any significant scale,” he adds. “It doesn't really make business sense in terms of providing some sort of ROI, but it's a moral and conscientious thing to do.”
In some markets, some level of on-site power generation is often required to get projects through the planning permission process, especially if there’s an office component. However, many markets have a more involved planning process for larger solar deployments (often above 1MW) that could slow down projects, so regulations sometimes lead to operators going for smaller deployments than they otherwise would.
Pennington notes that on-site solar also supports green building certification, and is important for achieving Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certification.
Digital Realty’s Binkley tells us on-site, behind-the-meter, is one of the “highest quality” energy sources you can find in terms of impact, and is a “very attractive resource” from a sustainability impact perspective.
“It’s a very high-impact solution, but the scale of it is somewhat limited,” he concedes.
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