Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/938019
With the rapid growth in enterprise cloud use, unbridled growth of big data, acceleration of DevOps and microservices initiatives, and increasing distribution of global workforces, the criticality and relevance of interconnected data centers has never been higher. But whether on premises or colocated, data center operation and growth comes at a cost. Beyond the hard dollars being spent on infrastructure expansion are other considerations. How those assets are constructed and managed can vary widely, and the impact that the different approaches have on the environment requires careful consideration to enable their ongoing viability. T he demand for renewable energy is strong and growing stronger, thanks to recognition of the data center industry's increasing energy consumption, and, specifically, the concentration of energy consumption among large cloud providers. Although every com- pany office building has a server in a closet, how the company powers and cools it—as well as the source of the energy—is generally an aerthought for on-premises equipment. at situation changes, by necessity, when you come to the cloud. Enterprises, data center operators and cloud providers all recognize mutual respon- sibility when it comes to sustainability. is responsibility encompasses aspects of how buildings are designed and operated, and, most critically, how they're powered. Power- ing data centers with renewable energy is becoming a priority among large cloud pro- viders and corporations, and they're looking beyond their own actions for solutions from their data center suppliers. CORPORATIONS DEMAND RENEWABLES Enterprise customers are increasingly listing renewable energy as a top issue driv- ing selection of a data center provider. It may not be top of mind for every business, but the number of those who are aware and who are committed to furthering sustainability is increasing. A leading indicator: the RE100 campaign, which seeks commitments from corporations to achieve a 100% renewable- energy target, saw 35 new signatories in 2017, bringing the total to 119. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in 2016 these companies "consumed 159 TWh [or 159 billion kWh] of electricity globally, nearly equivalent to the electricity consump- tion of Sweden." Evidence also suggests corporations are turning these commitments into action. In 2017, they signed contracts to procure 5.4 gigawatts of renewable energy. 1 Economics remains at the forefront for many looking at renewable energy to power their data centers. In general, the macro 1 Source: https://about.bnef.com/blog/corporations-pur- chased-record-amounts-of-clean-power-in-2017/ THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL | 17 www.datacenterjournal.com