Chris Baldwin, Head of Sales at Powerstar, considers the role of modern energy management technologies in helping the sector to maintain resilient power while reducing emissions.

Science Based Targets, as validated by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), have become the foremost global mechanism for companies who are seriously engaged with sustainability. This is evidenced in the SBTi monitoring report from 2022, which shows an increase of 87% in companies signing up to the scheme, with more companies setting targets in 2022 than in the previous seven years combined.

The rationale for businesses to set SBT targets is clear: to stay ahead of, or ensure compliance with, environmental regulations; to achieve the best perceptions with external stakeholders, where many investors place an emphasis on ESG above other considerations; and to be part of the wider conversation around innovation and technological development. The urgency underpinning such a strategy shows in SBTi’s shift from a global carbon budget allocation, where a potential 2ºC rise was dropped in July 2022 down to 1.5ºC.

The importance of SBTs and their implementation is examined in detail by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the GSM Association (GSMA), and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – specific information for mobile networks operators, fixed networks operators, and data centre operators. Their guidance is clear:

“For the period 2020 – 2030, the main strategy to decarbonise the ICT sector, at the pace necessary to align with 1.5ºC trajectories, includes the implementation of simultaneous, vigorous, and urgent actions in the following fields: continued implementation of energy efficiency plans; switch to renewable/low carbon electricity supply; encouragement of carbon consciousness among end-users. To continuously improve energy performance is fundamental and is also driven from a cost perspective.”

But this question of cost drivers alongside corporate reputation and ESG is a balancing act, especially for energy-intensive data centres. Investment in on-site renewables and in energy efficiency infrastructure projects, where cost is offset against predicted savings, is a case in point. In a volatile energy market, such predictions can be hard to make with certainty. 

A changing landscape

There are questions of confidence for data centres when looking to invest in new energy management technology. Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is business-critical for ICT. Switching from a traditional UPS solution to a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) might present a difficult choice.  This is not to say that data centres are risk averse – pragmatism is all, and there can be a dilemma when looking to change strategy for such an important asset. 

There are cost- and carbon-related benefits in switching from an inefficient, sunk UPS asset to a more sustainable and flexible BESS solution which can incorporate UPS alongside energy storage.  However, traditional UPS, without the many additional benefits of BESS, is a long-trusted option, one which serves its sole purpose – providing back-up power, to limited critical assets in the case of power disruption. That said, the requirements placed on data centres are changing, as is the energy market, alongside energy infrastructure, and the impact and ramifications of climate change.

In their Green Data report, Deloitte notes the regulatory and socio-economic pressures faced by data centre providers and the changing landscape. There is the seismic growth in internet usage – especially during and post-pandemic; growing ICT services and storage demands; the environmental risk borne by an industry that has been at the forefront of technological and environmental management – especially with the growth of cloud facilities and the associated requirement for constant computing capacity.  They also raise the question of location and grid capacity, and the impact of climate change on the day-to-day power resilience of data centre operations.

A balancing act

When looking at the balancing act of risk avoidance – in light of the dilemma regarding switching a traditional UPS out for a modern BESS with integrated UPS capability – the question of geography and grid capacity highlighted in the Deloitte report are highly pertinent. On a global/national level, energy grid decarbonisation varies, and so for any data centre, decarbonisation efforts will be dependent upon factors outside a company’s own control, unless they can incorporate a high proportion of renewables into their energy mix. By way of example, Deloitte notes,

“…local energy operators in Denmark project total energy grid consumption from DCs to grow from 1-15% by 2030.  In Ireland it is set to more than double, reaching 30% by 2028… In 2021, DCs accounted for 14% of all electricity used in the Republic of Ireland, a 256% increase from 2015.”

If companies want to facilitate the development of new data centres in their preferred geographical locale, then a smart microgrid – one which incorporates on-site renewables alongside BESS to store and manage the mix of grid supply with self-generated sustainable power – would seem to be a clear way to avoid such issues. 

While power resilience is a critical issue for data centres, climate change is already demonstrating the relevance of a shift away from traditional UPS to a BESS solution. A BESS which includes UPS has additional benefits: most significantly the capacity to protect an entire site rather than individual, specified items of equipment, and the capability to store renewable energy generated on-site to be used when needed and when most cost- and carbon-effective – all working towards Science Based Targets, rather than adding to unnecessary emissions, as a traditional UPS will do when not in use. 

Crucially, and looking at the wider climate picture, energy grids are increasingly placed under considerable strain – both here in the UK, and globally, highlighted by Deloitte:

“Local energy grids present concerns around resiliency, particularly with the increase in extreme weather events and the resulting availability disruptions.”

Businesses investing in on-site renewables, generating their own power, and controlling this with modern energy management technologies – including BESS and AI control systems which both learn and manage energy supply and data in real time – may be best placed in terms of flexibility of location and, perhaps most crucially, in terms of ensuring their own power resilience.

The bigger picture

Ultimately, the need to decarbonise data centres and ICT, more generally, is a vital issue.  Where Science Based Targets are embraced as a means to manage and demonstrate both commitment to and advances in decarbonisation, energy supply and management are a critical part of the equation: from direct Scope One to indirect Scope Three emissions. 

Power resilience will always be crucial for data centre operations. Looking to modern energy management, including renewables alongside BESS with UPS into a net zero strategy is compelling on many levels: increased power resilience; potentially more options when looking to site location; reduced emissions and greater flexibility in the energy mix; accurate data for measuring and recording environmental impact, alongside lower costs, and greater efficiency.