When sustainable data centres are not good for business
And why many data centre operators don't bother.
Building sustainable data centres is not good for business, and most data centre operators won't do it if they can avoid it.
This UnfilteredFriday, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Why would data centre operators build sustainable data centres?
The short answer: They won't. Why should they?
Making money
If we are honest about it, the business of data centres is simply another commercial venture that seeks to make money for its investors.
In this case, by offering:
- Scalable support for AI workloads.
- Infrastructure for compute and storage.
- Diverse connectivity for seamless communication.
- Make it very reliable.
That's it.
Sure, an efficient data centre that uses less electricity to produce the same outcome will have lower operational overheads. This equal making more money.
But doing this might take more effort than it's worth beyond a certain threshold, as efficient systems can be costlier and require more effort to deploy.
The path of least resistance
And between saving a few $100,000 per month or raking in millions more in revenue by building another data centre, efforts can get skewed towards the latter.
The problem: An inefficient data centre will likely remain inefficient for its entire lifespan of 5, 10, or 15 years. And they run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This is the rationale behind sustainability guidelines and initiatives.
- Green Mark for Data Centres.
- ASHRAE Standards.
- Yes, even PUE.
This way, customers can choose data centre operators knowing how sustainable they are.
It is also why Johor has rejected some 30 per cent of new data centre applications since June. Because it can't be only about making money and ignoring sustainability.
Of a different breed
I've always made it a point to praise genuine sustainability initiatives when I see them.
- STT GDC for their effort to enhance sustainability.
- Equinix's highly sustainable SG6 data centre.
- Keppel's focus on moving the needle.
There are others too, including at least one operator that has successfully retrofitted an ageing data centre to be more efficient - and sustainable.
Unfortunately, I can't share more publicly at this point, as I was told marketing wants to time the announcement for maximum coverage.
If you know of data centre operators who are making genuine efforts towards sustainability, do leave a comment or DM.
