Cloud service provider iomart has announced that it will now power its flagship data center with a rooftop solar installation.
A total of 560 solar panels have been installed at Iomart’s data center in Maidenhead, which can generate approximately 250,000 kWh of energy each year. According to iomart, this will avoid 96,061 kg of CO2 emissions annually.
This installation is part of iomart’s move to power all its data centers with 100% renewable energy, including energy from wind, hydro and solar power.
David Gammie, CTO at iomart, said: “We have a large portfolio of data centers across the UK and ensuring they are as sustainable as possible is one of our biggest focuses at iomart.
“We have already committed to supplying all our data centers with 100% sustainable energy. This installation in Maidenhead goes one step further, generating our own energy on site, with the potential to export energy back to the grid in the future.
“Our data center in Maidenhead is the ideal location for a project like this. It has a huge roof area, making solar panels the ideal solution.”
Reduce the impact of data centers
Data centers are increasingly becoming a focus of decarbonization efforts due to the enormous amount of energy these facilities consume. Globally, data centers are estimated to account for 3% of the world’s electricity consumption annually, and National Grid forecasts predict that the rise of AI will cause data center power consumption to increase sixfold over the next decade.
As such, many data center operators have invested in renewable technologies to power their sites. In May, Greek energy company Mytilineos signed two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Keppel DC REIT, which will power its two data centers in Dublin with energy generated by solar farms in Ireland.
In June, Keppel DC REIT also signed an agreement with GridBeyond, which will supply battery energy storage systems (BESS) for Keppel DC’s data centers. Two 2MW/2.2MWh BESSs will be installed at Keppel DC’s Citywest site, while an additional 4MW/6.1MWh BESS will be installed at the Ballycoolin site.
Data centers make up a significant portion of Ireland’s electricity consumption; Estimates suggest that Ireland’s data centers consumed around 5.3 TWh of electricity in 2022, equivalent to around 17% of the country’s electricity consumption.
