E X P E R T O P I N I O N he recent partnership
T between Schneider Electric and Digital Realty makes for a positive contribution to the upwards trajectory of an innovative circular economy . The collaboration initiative at Digital Realty ’ s PAR5 data centre in Paris aims to prolong and maintain the life of the mission-critical systems , including the organisation ’ s Low- and Medium Voltage electrical equipment , switchgear and three-phase Uninterruptible Power Supplies ( UPS ). Over the next three-to-five years , the project is expected to help Digital Realty save and avoid 50 %– 70 % of the embodied carbon within this equipment .
This isn ’ t the first instance of successful circular innovations for Digital Realty .
Its River Cooling project at its Marseille sites has one of the best Power Usage Effectiveness ( PUE ) ratings in Europe of less than 1.2 . Utilising underground water from a former mine , the river-based system helps save 18,400MWh of energy per year while cooling the rooms that house the servers .
What does your day-to-day look like as Energy and Sustainability Director ?
It ’ s a mix . My main mission concerns the management of energy – at 14 , soon to be 16 sites – as well as managing the carbon footprint on Scopes 1 , 2 and 3 . It ’ s also usually a lot of study , a lot of projects and a fair amount of reporting both internally and externally .
Can you outline some of the regional challenges Digital Realty faces when it comes to implementing sustainable data centre solutions ?
Across France and beyond , we have to consider Scope 3 . However , the main problem and one of our biggest difficulties is to find those solutions . We don ’ t impose something if the market doesn ’ t already have the solution . We don ’ t develop solutions as we don ’ t have time . Although we discuss with competitors and partners different solutions concerning the construction and equipment , we request others propose them to us . That ’ s why Schneider launching this programme is beneficial , as it helps us find solutions .
It ’ s important to have an open mind to see what solutions exist in development and we ’ re open to tests and initiatives to make our data centres a playground . Remaining patient and working alongside partners is how we develop ideas towards new solutions . While we ’ re at the beginning of this story regarding circularity , we still have to accelerate .
Through these discussions with partners who build our data centres , we found there will be difficulty discovering copper in 2030 . This is a basic metal and six years is not far away which is why we ’ re looking at cabling with aluminium for easier recycling and the same purity .
Since its commission three years ago , how is the River Cooling in Marseille impacting Digital Realty ’ s operations today ?
It ’ s an incredible project in terms of efficiency . We can use 22MW of cooling to refresh the sites and it ’ s completely free . For us to cool three of our main data centres in Marseille is huge . Data centres use a lot of electricity and heat , so this project has a huge impact – it ’ s 30x more efficient . The key here is it ’ s less than 1.15 PUE , the best in Europe with this solution . We ’ re extremely proud .
How does Digital Realty ’ s involvement in the FLAP regions impact its sustainability strategy and what contributing factors make Paris a significant driving force ?
Between all of the different data centres , whether ours or competitors ’, we have something in common – renewable energy . We ’ re all on the same page , generally , for Scopes 1 and 2 , but for Scope 3 , we ’ re all learning . However , we ’ re striving to set an example to our fellow data centre colleagues . The aim is to do our best and meet new challenges . To do this we have to address three things : the first concerns the construction of our data centres . This represents around 45 % of our Scope 3 . Second concerns equipment , which sits at around 36 %. Lastly , there ’ s the purchase of goods and services . By working closely with procurement departments , we can help create new ways to collaborate .
Can you outline Digital Realty ’ s approach to heat reuse and how such initiatives contribute to both sustainability and community engagement ?
Last year , I took the map of Paris and Marseille , grabbed my pen and circled around each site roughly 1km . In the end , on the 14th site , we had six concrete projects with engagement from partners .
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