As our world warms up, power outages and water shortages have ravaged many parts of the planet. Data centers may be among the first to feel the resource pinch. They need lots of energy to keep their servers powered, air conditioning and often water to cool the servers, sensors to monitor equipment, fire suppression and backup systems to absorb energy hiccups or software malfunctions — complex yet resilient data ecosystems.
That takes a lot of energy, leading data centers and data transmission networks to be responsible for around 1% of energy demand worldwide, according to the latest report from the International Energy Agency.
Efficiency gains have kept that number steady for the last decade, but as climate change threatens energy availability, Big Tech has engaged more sustainable strategies. These include shifting more of their energy reliance to renewables like solar and wind, buying carbon credits to offset emissions, recycling more water and tinkering with other cooling options. The tech industry has also worked with governments in Sweden and Finland to place a handful of new data centers in cooler environments, where the ambient air can help keep things manageable.
VIA CNET