How To Build Resilient and Carbon-Neutral Data Centers
Over the weekend of Oct 14-15, 2023, a data center power outage had disrupted the services of Singapore’s DBS Bank and Citibank, causing waves of news coverage focusing on the inconvenience caused to the users and banks. This has brought to light the need for data center operators to be more mindful of adopting solutions – so as to minimize such risks to consumers and businesses.
At the Data Center World Asia event that took place last week, companies in the industry gathered to discuss ways to continually improve the status quo of data centers. At the event, CHINT a global green energy leader, led the conversation on the construction of complex data centers and carbon-neutral solutions.
The construction of the next-generation data centers is becoming increasingly complex. The demand for computing power is growing exponentially due to the integration of technologies in data centers like the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and other data-intensive technologies. With data centers being increasingly targeted by cyberattacks, companies now emphasize adopting sophisticated security measures, especially by the financial technology companies providing services,
including digital banking. Balancing these prerequisites, data centers operators are now also looking for ways to reduce the production of waste materials that can leach into the environment and cause pollution, as well as to comply with regulations.
The CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends 2023 report revealed that Singapore has less than 4 Megawatts of available capacity and a record-low vacancy rate of less than 2% – making it the world’s most power-constrained data centers market. At the same time, Singapore, being the most sought-after market for data centers in the world, has pushed demand for IT capacity to nearby locations like Johor in Malaysia. These trends have resulted in an urgent demand for expertise, experience, and supply in the region for reliable data center solutions designed to address next-generation data center construction challenges.
At the Data Centre World Asia 2023 this year, CHINT demonstrated for the audience the capabilities of the company’s data center solutions that are designed to meet the power distribution needs of hyperscale data centers. One of these solutions included the EnergiX-P40, a Power Distribution Unit (PDU) certified under the IEC-61439 type test and IEC60068 seismic test. With up to 144 outgoing circuits, the circuit breakers in the EnergiX-P40 can be replaced without the need to power down the entire PDU. This is important for data centers and other critical infrastructures where downtime is unacceptable, even during maintenance or repair. This can also help to improve the availability and uptime of data centers and other critical applications.
Substations are another essential part of data center solutions as they lower the electricity voltage from the grid and provide backup power in case of an outage. CHINT’s prefabricated substations are designed and built in a controlled factory environment and can also include lithium battery systems. They are then shipped to the data center site for onsite easy integration with fire protection systems. This reduces material waste and eliminates the need for on-site custom cuts and changes.
“Data centers are critical infrastructure, and data center owners must address the complexity of data centre construction at the onset of each project if they want to build them to the highest standards, and with government regulations and scalability in mind. The construction will require careful planning and design. Engineers working on the project must have the expertise to consider all the factors involved, such as ways to optimize the design of the data center and select the most cost-effective materials with high quality and construction methods. In addition, the use of prefabricated substations can also significantly reduce the time it takes to construct a data center, improve the quality of construction, and are definitely more cost-effective than traditional construction methods, especially for hyperscale data centers” said Er. Lim Say Leong, IEC Ambassador (2018 – 2021) and
Technical Director of Asia Pacific, CHINT Global and Sunlight Electrical.
At the same event, Benjamin Kho, Regional Applications Marketing Manager of Asia Pacific, CHINT Global, Ngo Yun Fun, ENGIE SEA Engineering Manager, and Dr. Yong Rui Yuan from the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association of Singapore discussed the potential to transform the energy sector through the use of hydrogen and renewables, and against the backdrop of economic viability, environment benefits, and societal implications of harnessing renewables – fostering enthusiasm for the shift towards a low-carbon world.
Ed. Photo by Taylor Vick on Unsplash.
