Approximately 2.5% of all European energy is produced by servers within data centres and it is anticipated that this will double in the next 5 years.
According to the GreenDataNet Project, the plan is to use lots of partially degraded car batteries as a store so that power can be stockpiled as it is generated and then supplied to data centres at peak times.
The GreenDataNet Project aims to reduce the impact of the data explosion currently happening in the energy economy. This will be attempted by addressing the engineering and technological challenges that could be overcome through open innovation and collaboration between industries and leading academic institutions.
Batteries for electric and hybrid cars currently last for approximately 14 years before they need to be replaced; at which point they could still be used for the purpose of an energy store.
If electric and hybrid cars continue to grow in popularity then Europe could be left with a stockpile of lithium ion batteries which would no longer be useful for cars. However, these redundant batteries could be recycled and used for other useful functions.
According to Van der Meer, Nissan’s director for corporate planning, while talking with TechWeek at the GreenDataNet consortium launch “Affordable and reliable batteries could have a second life in data centres and in the home, starting around 2020.”
With Energy consumption continuing to increase, resulting in a depletion of natural resources and increase in costs, it’s important that Organisations have processes in place to monitor and manage their energy consumption, use and waste. A task that can be significantly simplified with the assistance of Management Systems like that delivered through ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 Certification.
To find out more about the Management Systems and how they can help you to reduce your environmental impact and energy consumption, contact QMS today at [email protected] or 0333 344 3646.