Energy Efficiency
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Energy-efficiency technologies and practices could limit data centre GHGs by 13%
April 25, 2012 - As corporate computing requirements grow steadily and consumer-focused IT services continue their rapid expansion, the demand for data centre capacity continues to rise. The rapid adoption of IT use in the emerging economies is also providing a powerful engine for the growth of data centre capacity. In turn, the growth in demand is further increasing these facilities’ energy footprint.
April 25, 2012 By Anthony Capkun
Today’s data centre industry consumes around 1.5% of the world’s energy, says Pike Research, adding that data centre operators are struggling to keep energy demand in check while continuing to increase their capacity. The need to reduce energy consumption is being driven by a diverse set of factors that includes the rising price of electricity, greenhouse gas emissions, IT improvements, cloud computing, virtualization, advances in cooling techniques, and significant improvements in monitoring and management tool suites.
According to a new report from Pike Research, the widespread adoption of energy-efficient data centre technologies and best practices could significantly limit the growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the next several years. If current trends continue, GHG emissions from data centres are expected to total 1326 million tons of CO2; green best practices could reduce that total to 1156 million tons—a difference of 13%.
“The drive toward green data centres is a response to business requirements to reduce costs across the company, as well as a response to environmental concerns,” said research director Eric Woods. “Within the data centre environment, that translates to a mandate to reduce energy consumption which, in turn, is driving innovation. Data centre operators are exploring new ideas related to business models, facility construction, layout and design, air flow dynamics, new technology, and monitoring and management tools.”
Pike Research forecasts the green data centre will offer an annual market opportunity that exceeds $45 billion worldwide by 2016. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to have the highest revenue growth through 2016, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just under 30% between 2011 and 2016. Double-digit revenue growth is also projected for Europe and North America (CAGRs of almost 27% for both markets).
The report, “Green Data Centres”, explores global green data centre trends with regional forecasts for market size and opportunities through 2016. It examines the impacts of global economic and political factors on regional data centre growth, along with newly adopted developments in power and cooling infrastructure, servers, storage, and data centre infrastructure management software tools across the industry. The research study profiles key industry players and their strategies for expansion and technology adoption.
An Executive Summary of the report is available for FREE DOWNLOAD on the firm’s website.
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