Page 13 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2021

News
Double digit
growth for
data centres
THERE ARE VERY few industries experiencing double digit growth but the data centre cooling market is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.5 per cent.
A report released this month by Researchand- Markets.com said the market was valued at USD $US8.07 billion in 2019 and is set to top $US16.62 billion by 2025.
“There has been a surge in the number of data centres due to high computational requirements by AI and media applications. Furthermore, the growth is going to be fuelled by the adoption of edge computing and the increase in the number of IoT devices,” the report said.
“The increasing construction of hyperscale fa- cilities with a power capacity of over 50 mega- watts will fuel the need for innovative infrastruc- ture in the market over the next few years globally in developed countries.”
While data centres account for two to five per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, cooling sys- tems are responsible for almost 40 per cent of the power consumption in a data centre.
The research firm said companies are trying to tackle this issue by setting up green data cen- tres ,which use free air cooling instead of tradi- tional air conditioners.
There has certainly been plenty of activity in this space in recent weeks. For example, in the
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chair and CEO of Schneider Electric.
A new $400 million data centre is currently being built in Sydney.
UK in January, Mitsubishi Electric launched a new range of VRF-based, close-coupled, invert- er-driven precision air conditioning models, de- signed specifically for business-critical IT envi- ronments.
The new Multi Density system from Mitsubi- shi Electric is said to be ideal for data centres, while the R410A system is said to be ideal for high density racks and blade server cooling in data centres.
Locally, DCI Data Centres has secured devel- opment approval for a new $400 million data centre in Sydney’s Eastern Creek, which will de- liver 36 megawatts to the region.
The data centre, dubbed SYD02, will be opera- tional in 2022.
In August 2020, the company also announced development approval for its second data centre in Adelaide. The Adelaide 2 data centre will open later this year.
Net zero framework for cities
CITIES COVER THREE per cent of the earth’s land surface yet they create more than 70 per cent of all carbon emissions.
To keep global temperature increases to 1.5°C or below, cities must transition to a net zero economy.
To provide a global framework for this transi- tion and to accelerate decarbonisation, Schnei- der Electric, Enel and the World Economic Fo- rum have released a report “Net Zero Carbon Cities: An Integrated Approach”.
It recommends an integrated energy ap- proach, defined as “systemic efficiency”, as a so- lution to the current environmental, economic, health and social crises.
“The COVID-19 crisis has reinforced the im- portance of global partnerships as we strive to
make our cities and societies more sustainable, inclusive and resilient,” according to Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chair and CEO of Schneider Electric.
“Curbing emissions from the world’s cities re- quires urgent action, and it is an ambition that will need alignment of all stakeholders, both pub- lic and private actors, companies and citizens. This report outlines the ways in which systemic efficiency can be realistically and practically achieved, and how each of us can play a part.”
Systemic efficiency encompasses clean electrifi- cation, smart digital technology, and efficient buildings and infrastructure, along with a circular economy approach to water, waste and materials.
Right now, just over half the world’s popula- tion lives in cities, but that is projected to rise to 68 per cent by 2050. ✺
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS FEBRUARY 2021
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