Global gains: how the hyperscalers are responding
The world’s largest players in this space – hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft and Meta – are responding to sustainability concerns.
Earlier this year, Microsoft launched its Data Center Community Pledge, recognising their “role and responsibility as a leader in AI’.
The company is promising to design and operate their data centres “to support society’s climate goals and become carbon negative, water positive and zero waste before 2030”. This includes a commitment to procure 100% renewable energy globally by 2025 and to return more more water to local supplies than they use.
In 2020 the first Microsoft Circular Center opened in Amsterdam. It’s designed to reuse and repurpose servers and hardware in their data centres.
Since then, Microsoft has built another 10 centres, furthering their sustainability plans toward 2030.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also aiming to be water positive by 2030. At the end of 2023, the company reported it was over 40% of the way to meeting its goal.
In a number of its 100+ data centres worldwide, Amazon is cooling via reclaimed and treated wastewater instead of the more commonly used potable water.
Above: Microsoft’s data centres in northern Holland, including one of their new circular centres.
The Australian example: government and industry initiatives
The Australian Government has programs in place to support the growth of ‘green data centres’.
For example, the Industrial Energy Transformation Studies program funds engineering and feasibility studies to help organisations find new ways to lower energy costs and reduce emissions at their facilities.
The largest data centre developers and operators here are already taking steps in the right direction.
This includes commitments from some to power their facilities with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, largely through power purchase agreements, according to the Mandala report ‘Empowering Australia’s Digital Future’.
In their FY24 ESG report, major player NEXTDC said they “remain dedicated to a net zero future” and are finalising a roadmap to balance growth with the need to minimise energy usage and carbon emissions.
The company already established its NEXTNeutral program giving customers the option to carbon-offset their power use, and their M1 data centre in Melbourne was the first in Australia to achieve a 5-star NABERS rating.
Their sustainable design strategies for data centres include innovations such as advanced liquid cooling systems as well as optimised airflow management, efficient power distribution, and sustainable building materials, outlined in their ESG report. In addition, they say a modular design approach can help “achieve scalability while maintaining efficiency”.
AirTrunk is innovating with large-scale liquid-cooling in the Asia-Pacific region. The company says the approach can support tens to hundreds of megawatts – including for AI deployments – while realising significant energy savings.
Meanwhile, in Queensland developers are constructing a renewables-powered hyperscale data centre and battery energy storage system (BESS). Coined ‘Supernode’, the project’s first phase involves installing a 250MW BESS capable of storing surplus solar and wind energy for use in Australia’s grid when needed.
What’s our role as architects?
What does this all mean for the future of data centre design?
Our leading architect in the field, Principal Dean Symington, is keeping a close eye on developments. As data centre operators move to reduce their environmental footprint, the architecture that houses their vital infrastructure will need to evolve too.
“By understanding our client’s aspirations, current market trends and future advancements, we can create data centre architecture that maximises efficiency today while also being adaptable to embrace the technologies of tomorrow.”
