I N F O G R A P H I C
A PATH TO DEPENDABLE CARBON-FREE DATA CENTRES
Recent research from Last Energy underscores the challenges confronting data centres as they strive for growth and explores how nuclear energy could offer a viable solution to address these issues .
Behind the ever-expanding suite of software and services that is known as the Internet sits a largely unnoticed , but massive and critical , network of buildings spread across the globe , each housing unimaginable quantities of digital information . These data centres hum in the background , consuming millions of MW-hours of electricity .
Along with the millions of MW of energy are the millions of tons of carbon emitted to create that power . These sector emissions will continue to grow as the demand for data outpaces energy efficiency advancements .
The robust growth of the data centre market will service data for further digitisation , cloud computing , or new
Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) services . The world ’ s governments , citizens and businesses count on data centres to remain online to support systems ranging from critical , such as air traffic control and hospital records , to everyday information , including emails and online white papers .
Data centres face two significant challenges on their path to substantial growth : power and carbon .
1 . A power challenge : When a grid connection is not available , unable to meet their demand , or will not be available within the required timeline , data centres face the challenge of supplying power . Confronted by these limitations , they must supply their own power or wait years for a grid connection .
2 . A carbon challenge : Data centres need to decarbonise due to both the global imperative of climate change and the business imperative of customers – many of which have committed themselves to using only low-carbon data centres . Choosing a power supply that is both clean and resilient has grown in importance over the last few years .
Data centres need solutions capable of addressing these challenges as the sector rapidly expands .
Developers need to secure sustainable supplies of energy that can scale along with their business , and energy assets must be quick to construct and connect while being carbon free and resilient . �
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