F E A T U R E
HVO BACKS UP DATA CENTRES ’ TRANSITION TO NET ZERO
Data centres and data transmission networks around the world are estimated to generate around 330 million metric tons of carbon dioxide . As demand is set to increase exponentially through the widespread adoption of AI , this is simply not sustainable , explains Paul Finch , CTO of Kao Data . t ' s long been
I acknowledged that data centres consume significant amounts of energy , but with the growth in demand for Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) applications , there is expected to be a phenomenal increase in the amount of computing power required over the next few years .
According to the International Energy Agency ( IEA ), AI will have significant implications for data centre energy use . Although AI actually has the potential to reduce energy consumption in data centres , the almost exponential expansion of the Generative AI market is ‘ likely to accelerate growth in energy demand for AI ’.
To put a figure on that statement , there ’ s already a major step change in the amount of capacity needed to support AI deployments . For example , a recent report from Synergy research found that hyperscale data centre capacity will near-treble in the next six years , driven by AI adoption .
Tenfold increase in demand for energy ? At the same time , densities within said data centres are increasing at a far faster rate , allowing organisations to pack more compute into a smaller footprint , which will undoubtedly increase demand for energy – possibly as much as tenfold .
This represents a significant challenge for the 100-plus data centre operators and trade associations that have signed up to the European Green Deal via the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact , and pledges ‘ to make data centres climateneutral by 2030 ’.
In its latest analysis , the IEA estimated that data centres and data transmission networks were responsible for nearly 1 % of all energy-related greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions .
In 2020 , the IEA said data centres and data transmission networks ‘ that underpin digitalisation ’ produced around 330 million metric tons of carbon dioxide . This is equivalent to 0.9 % of energy-related GHG emissions and 0.6 % of total GHG emissions .
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