How A Geothermal Plant Helps to Solve Tech Energy Problem

By using hydroelectric and geothermal power and newly laid subsea cabling, a group of data centre companies wants to provide a more sustainable way to keep the data flowing.

FREMONT, CA: Thousands of litres of water are rushing down pipelines to the station's turbines and out into the river below, producing enormous amounts of energy in the process. A variety of hydroelectric and geothermal facilities produce nearly 70 per cent and 30 per cent of the nation's energy.

Iceland has taken advantage of its natural resources and uses 100 per cent renewable energy, such as the hydroelectric plant run by Landsvirkjun and the geothermal facility run by ON Power, which fuels everything from homes to cars to data centres, while the rest of Europe struggles with rising gas prices and worries about a winter of power outages.

These expansive advancements are innovative and exciting, but they could also be crucial for tech workers tasked with lowering their company's carbon emissions and enhancing its green credentials. Although technology has the potential to improve everyone's lives, our ever-increasing reliance on data is placing a significant burden on the environment.

According to estimates, the IT sector is responsible for around three per cent of the world's carbon emissions. Data centres account for 45 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the IT industry. Their constant need for information will put more upward pressure on the environment and put emissions at risk of rising further. A consortium of Icelandic businesses that supply data centres, power facilities, and subsea cabling think their combined resources provide a greener alternative and are located in the far north of Europe.

A data centre firm whose facilities are 100 per cent powered by sustainable energy sources, including hydropower and geothermal energy in Iceland, is one of the persons assisting in leading this charge.

More big business people are realising that sustainability is important to the board and the final consumers of a company's products. Consumers don't want the practices of the businesses that make these products, and technology plays a significant role in that production process to compromise their commitment to environmental responsibility.

According to Deloitte, customers rank reducing carbon footprint and waste generated during manufacturing as two of the top five environmentally responsible or moral behaviours. A few businesses are already aware of the part IT plays in the manufacturing process. Cantrell uses the long-time customer of Verne's, BMW, as an example. They chose them back in 2012 because they wanted to demonstrate to the world that not only were they constructing the next generation of environmentally friendly cars, but they were also conscious that data centres are part of the raw elements that make up the cars.