the long term as this technology continues to advance .”
VIRTUS Data Centres is already using 100 per cent renewable energy . Solutions director David Watkins believes “ if organisations work collectively ” the emissions targets can be achieved . And his view of the future beyond is equally rosy . “ Hydrogen fuel cells are currently gaining a lot of traction as an energy source , especially for standby power as a potential replacement for diesel generators . Microsoft recently successfully tested a 250kW deployment , which is small for the requirements of a hyperscale data centre but proved that if the technology can be scaled it is a viable option .”
Other solutions on Watkins ’ list are ‘ free cooling ’, running the data halls at warmer temperatures and finding ways to reuse the water used in adiabatic cooling .
Data centres have got 99 problems but a fix ain ’ t one . Solutions – or potential solutions – abound . As Mark Fenton so succinctly sums up , “ Be in no doubt though that the next few years are going to be transformational for data centres and the data centre industry .”
41 technologymagazine . com