Sustainable Data Centers: Equinix Rewrites the Playbook
- By CDOTrends editors
- December 13, 2022
Digital services and infrastructure company Equinix has continued its drive for sustainable IT and Net Zero emissions. It recently announced new measures to reduce the use of power and make its global network of data centers more energy efficient.
In the first initiative, Equinix said it would increase its operating temperature ranges within its data centers — the first such commitment by an operator of colocation data centers.
Equinix will begin to define a multi-year global roadmap for thermal operations within its data centers for more efficient cooling and decreased carbon impact.
Over time, this initiative will enable thousands of Equinix customers to reduce the Scope 3 carbon emissions associated with their data center operations.
"Most data centers operate within restrictive temperature and humidity bands, resulting in environments that are unnecessarily cooler than required," said Rob Brothers, program vice president for datacenter services at research firm IDC.
"Equinix will work with enterprises to change the way we think about operating temperatures within data center environments and how the industry can ensure optimal service levels for mission-critical digital infrastructure while improving data center efficiencies.”
Moving the efficiency dial
Equinix expects to operate its facilities closer to 27degC (80degF). This aligns with operating limits across its global data center portfolio with the globally-accepted boundaries of the A1A standards from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
When combined with existing Equinix initiatives, such as optimizing the use of outside air temperatures to cool its data centers, this new initiative will contribute to the overall sustainability of its data centers through efficiency improvements measured through Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).
PUE represents the total amount of power being used by a data center divided by the power used to run the IT equipment within the data center, providing an industry standard for data center energy efficiency.
"Our cooling systems account for approximately 25% of our total energy usage globally," said Raouf Abdel, executive vice president for global operations at Equinix.
"With this new initiative, we can intelligently adjust the thermostat in our data centers in the same way that consumers do in their homes. Once rolled out across our current global data center footprint, we anticipate energy efficiency improvements of as much as 10% in various locations."
Powering with hydrogen
In a second initiative, Equinix and the National University of Singapore (NUS) announced a collaboration to explore and develop hydrogen fuel technologies for green data centers in tropical climates, with a long-term goal of adapting them for use in Equinix’s global network.
Equinix will work with the NUS Centre for Energy Research & Technology (CERT), the world’s first research project to compare the efficiency of proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and fuel-flexible linear generator technologies.
PEM fuel cells are a leading contender for hydrogen energy. At the same time, fuel-flexible linear generators enable operators to easily switch between various clean fuel options, including hydrogen, biogas, and renewable liquid fuels.
These technologies can allow data centers to reduce carbon emissions while meeting the rising demand for data, colocation and interconnection services.
The research collaboration between Equinix and CERT will involve a holistic assessment of the suitability of these technologies for tropical data centers, considering local climatic conditions, site constraints, power demand, supply chain, fuel storage capabilities, and local regulatory policies.
Green hydrogen has been identified as a viable source of sustainable energy for data centers. However, hydrogen generation on an industrial scale remains several years from being commercially viable, making it imperative to assess and adopt alternatives even as global research and development continue.
This research initiative comes under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed earlier this year between the two partners, who will collaborate to conduct a comprehensive analysis of technologies to determine the operational viability of the technologies at scale.
Doubling down on renewables
Equinix has committed to becoming climate neutral, aligned to approved science-based targets, for emissions reduction across its global operations and supply chain by 2030.
The company recently signed two new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in Finland to create new renewable energy generation, bringing its total renewable energy capacity under long-term contracts globally to approximately 300MW.
Equinix's renewable energy coverage has been over 90% since 2018. In 2021, the company achieved 95% renewable energy coverage.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Funtap