Energy for information: the green promise of the Node Pole data centres

Sammanfattning: Data centres are key to high availability and around the clock access to information. As the number of data centres increases to satisfy the demand for data, so does their energy consumption. This thesis is a case study of the data centres located in the Node Pole region in the North of Sweden. It aims to look at aspects of both the energy supply of Norrbotten and the actual technologies used by the data centres to utilise this energy supply. Using a literature review to gather primary data, the first research question analyses the energy supply of Norrbotten, investigating its specificities through energy security theories, particularly looking through the aspects of availability, accessibility and affordability. The second question examines the Node Pole’s implementation response to the specific energy supply of the North of Sweden, and whether this response is efficient and sustainable, using the four Rs theory and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). The results of the analysis show that the North of Sweden is currently in a privileged position: the energy produced in Norrbotten benefits from high availability criteria, is in oversupply, and thanks to the prevalence of hydropower and wind power in the energy mix, is very low in GHG emissions. The Swedish grid is reliable and robust, and Norbotten is no exception to that rule, providing the Node Pole with an accessible “plug and play” module to the electricity grid. In addition, the recent tax rebate aimed at the data centre industry means that the energy is affordable, more so in fact than in many other European countries. This assessment makes for a favourable breeding ground for data centres in the region from an energy security perspective. Meanwhile, the Node Pole data centres use ground-breaking cooling technologies consisting of airside cooling combined with adiabatic pads for humidity control (no separate humidification system), simple air filtration facilities (thanks to the outstanding air quality of the area),  and aerodynamic architectural premises layouts for better flow, reducing the cooling costs by increasing the efficiency of the overall air conditioning system. This technology is paired with innovative power distribution solutions (non-standard voltage and less UPS batteries), thereby considerably reducing the electricity consumption again and the waste of energy caused by voltage conversion. Combining the auspicious energy offerings of the Norrbotten region with the ingenious practical implementations of the data centres thus unleashes a new potential for more efficient and sustainable data centres.