BUILDING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE DATA CENTERS

By: Bjorn Viedge

According to some estimates, the Middle East data centre colocation market could grow by as much as 13.5% annually between 2020 and 2026. The United Arab Emirates is leading its regional peers in this growth. The country is expected to see more than US$1 billion of investment by 2026 – a CAGR of just under 8% over the previous five years. In April this year, the UAE Cabinet initiated a strategy to nurture and boost the digital economy to the extent that it will contribute 20% of gross nonoil GDP in the coming years. The plan included the establishment of a council to oversee the progress of the digital economy. This programme will serve as yet another catalyst to accelerate data centre adoption.

Digitisation Vs Sustainability

The demand for data centers has led to their expansion, increasing heat generation and costs. According to Swedish researcher Anders Andrae, the ICT industry might consume 20% of global electricity and contribute 5.5% of carbon emissions by 2025. This poses concerns, especially in regions facing water crises, as data centers use an Olympic swimming pool's worth of water every two days.

To comply with regulations, data center builders must address the challenges posed by rising chip densities and outdated cooling methods.

With the UAE-hosted COP28 climate conference approaching, data center owners need to prioritize climate consciousness and invest in technologies that add value to society. While some greener technologies may not be applicable in all regions, the Middle East has alternative efficient options. Designers must consider the location, resources, climate, and temperature when striving for ecofriendly data centers.

Inner Pieces

Rethinking modern data center design is crucial, from the building itself to server components. Servercooling technologies, including liquidimmersion cooling, are making a powerful comeback. This technology, dating back to the 1940s, addresses the surging demand for denser computing. Modern liquid-immersion cooling utilizes a dielectric fluid that effectively dissipates hardware heat, outperforming traditional air-based cooling systems.

Liquid-immersion may hold the key to the future of data center cooling. It allows for reduced physical space usage and up to 50% energy savings compared to air-based solutions.

Building Blocks

Cooling alone does not guarantee sustainability; facility planners must also consider the building process itself. The emerging technique of prefabricated construction, or modular data centers, gains traction for smaller-scale data centers. Constructing prefabricated modules offsite in dedicated facilities allows for standardized production, improving efficiencies, enhancing quality, and reducing wastage significantly.

Prefabricated data centers, assembled and tested in controlled factory environments, lead to faster, less error-prone, and less labour-intensive on-site construction. Moreover, adding modules as demand arises eliminates the need for building large facilities for future expansion, resulting in a cheaper, more efficient, and sustainable project.

Governments, including the UAE, are firmly committed to the UN's SDGs. Middle East authorities and counterparts in other regions emphasize LEED certification and other standards in their regulatory frameworks. Nations worldwide recognize the importance of sustainable regulations. Data center owners, while playing their part, can also leverage a lucrative new business model with long-term benefits, such as quicker GTM and reduced operational costs.