The average energy efficiency (PUE) of 43 data centres selected for the National Green Data Centre in 2022 decreased to 1.27, the utilization rate of water resources (WUE) decreased to 1.2L/kWh, and the utilization rate of renewable energy electricity increased significantly …

The industry was surprised by the data and changes that had turned to the positive effect of the green development of our data centre over the past year. As a result of the dynamic development of our digital economy, the data centre has become an important base for supporting digital China. The size of the data centre has expanded rapidly and the total energy consumption has increased accordingly. Accelerating the construction of a green data centre and increasing the efficiency of energy resource utilization have become an important component of green low carbon development in industry and informationalization, and are important for achieving carbon peaks, carbon neutrality and goals. Under the co-facilitative drive and innovation of political production, our data centre industry is working on a green response to high-quality development.

Defecation into necessity

“The data centre is a strategic resource and public infrastructure that underpins future economic and social development and a key component of energy conservation in new infrastructure.” At the Green Development Conference of the 2023 Data Centre, the Director of the Energy Efficiency and Integrated Utilization Division of the Ministry of Industry and Informationization, H.E. Dr. yellowle, reiterated this view.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Informationization show that, by the end of 2022, our country was using a total data centre of over 6.5 million standard aircraft with an average increase of over 25 per cent over the last five years. In order to promote high-quality economic development, boost carbon peaks, carbon neutrality and the achievement of goals, energy conservation is a prerequisite for data centre development. The energy control of the data centre is not only related to the costing of services, but also to the achievement of the objective of “two carbon”.

Depleation is still a great space when it takes place. In its thematic report, the Monsignor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences noted that the key indicator currently measuring the energy consumption of the data centre is PUE, while the WUE target is gradually being taken into account; the average of PUE at the global data centre is still more than 1.5 per cent, and the average of PUE at the national green data centre in 2022, though 1.27, is still between 1.5 and 2, with significant regional variations. “The reduction of the new large-scale and above-mentioned data centre PUE below 1.3 is the necessary direction for energy efficiency reduction in the data centre.”

Policy strength

“The construction of a green data centre is a policy-oriented, technologically difficult, wide-ranging and long-cycle system, requiring policy guidance, institutional safeguards, technical support and market participation, and all parties are encouraged, synergistic.” The Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Efficiency Management of Public Institutions of the Authority for State Organs is the case.

In the process of developing a green response to the data centre, policy guidance has effectively played a “engagement” role at the top-level design level, leading industry parties to develop strong incentives for efficient green low carbon development. For example, as early as 2019, departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Informationization and the Directorate of State Affairs jointly issued Guidance on Enhancing the Construction of a Green Data Centre, which led to the design of large and supra-large data centres at no more than 1.4; in December 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Informationization, the National Development and Reform Commission, among others, further reduced PPUE’s objective to less than 1.3. In particular, the Ministry of Industry and Informationization attaches great importance to the green low carbon development of the data centre, leading to carbon peaks, carbon neutrality and targets, early planning, integrated deployment, enhanced top-level design, the launching of the Carbon peak implementation programme in the industrial sector, which implements the 14th Five-Year Industrial Green Development Plan, proposes the continuation of the national green data centre, the accelerated promotion of the application of energy-efficient technology equipment and the promotion of energy efficiency in priority areas such as the data centre.

“In the joint effort of the parties, the average design of PUE, which is planned for the construction of the large and larger data centre in the country, has declined to 1.3 per cent, and the advanced green data centre in the industry, PUE, has fallen to around 1.1, reaching the world’s advanced level.” Hoang Chi Trung noted. In the face of an increase in the total energy consumption of the data centre, the Ministry of Industry and Informationization will maintain a priority approach to energy efficiency, strengthen the concept of systems, advance in a scientific orderly manner the green low carbon transition and high-quality development across the industry, continue to develop model poles for the national green data centre, expedite the extension of energy-efficient technology equipment and improve the carbon-saving standards system for the green data centre.

Innovative infusion

Green, low carbon development in the data centre is a new fold of the new era, and innovation is a successful “polog”.

Innovative technologies are rife and provide “liers” for energy-saving precipitation in data centres. The Ministry of Industry and Informationization, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Agency for Management, the China Bank Insurance Monitoring Board, the six departments of the National Energy Agency have continued to build national green data centres, selected 237 data centre energy efficiency technologies, 178 green data centre technology applications, continuously upgraded data centre energy efficiency levels and continuously accelerated the green pace of energy use.

Telecommunications operators are actively leading innovative flows. China’s telecommunications, using new energy-saving technologies, is transforming old and traditional data centre spaces with a view to increasing energy efficiency rates, promoting renewable energy use according to regional characteristics and promoting the greening of data centres; China’s move through technology, management innovation, keeping abreast of green energy-saving front technologies, introducing new technologies for refrigeration and electricity at different time points, offering to implement internal green data centre evaluations, new occupants, and planning the IDC green think park; China is actively engaged in the construction of the AI-Energy-Energy Movement Control System to provide solutions for controlling the energy consumption of data centres from sources.

Of particular note is that “black science and technology” is becoming a bright spot for the green development of the data centre. Advocates stated that “reducing the cooling of data centres is the key to reducing PUE and that the use of natural cooling sources provides an effective means”. For example, the impregnated liquid cooling data centre, which is deployed on a scale in the northern part of the river, is running the PPUE low to 1.09 throughout the year, breaking down the climate environment refrigeration restrictions while achieving high energy efficiency, reliability and availability.