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Data centre professionals are most concerned about energy saving and the monitoring of power usage and whilst the majority have heard of the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) which comes into effect next month, many did not feel they really understood its requirements.
Research recently carried out by Nexans Cabling Solutions at a leading data centre exhibition* in London also revealed that data centre professionals are concerned about the impact the CRC will have on their businesses.
Of those answering the survey, 91% are aware of the CRC but over half (57%) said they do not understand it. The data also showed that the biggest concerns about the impact of CRC were on IT budgets (39%) and expansion or re-build plans (39%).
Harry Forbes, CTO of Nexans Cabling Solutions, said: “It might be that many people don’t understand the CRC because it only affects the heaviest energy users – about 20,000 UK companies that consume more than 6,000 Mega-Watt Hours (MWh) per year. However, everyone responsible for a data centre needs to take heed as it won’t be long before they too will come under scrutiny if on a voluntary rather than a compulsory basis.”
The CRC scheme has been launched by the UK Government as part of its aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. From next month, the 20,000 organisations identified as heavy energy users will be required to measure and report their energy consumption, and purchase allowances from the Government for every tonne of CO2 they emit. The CRC will operate as a cap and trade scheme where participants can either buy or sell allowances through a mandatory auction-based emissions trading scheme. The first sale of allowances will be in April 2011 and will cover emissions for 2010 and 2011.
“Where there are concerns about energy consumption the focus inevitably falls on data centres. These hubs of energy have been identified as a key source of energy consumption, responsible for up to 3.3% of Britain’s total grid power,” said Forbes.
And he added: “Even those companies not currently obliged to take part in the CRC scheme could do much to reduce their carbon footprint and save money at the same time. A good starting point would be to use Intelligent Infrastructure Management (IIM) tools that make it possible to meter actual power usage and produce trend data for any single or group of physical systems.”
The survey also revealed that whilst over half (59%) have plans to upgrade their data centres in the next 18 months, only four in ten (43%) are aware of the new Data Centre Ethernet Standards for Fibre Channel over Ethernet.
“It is disturbing that so few are aware of converged enhanced ethernet, as better quality cabling solutions can also help companies to save both money and energy consumption. We would encourage companies to think carefully about their data centre infrastructure requirements, and invest now in order to reap the benefits in the future,” said Forbes.
*Nexans surveyed data centre professionals at London’s Data Centre World conference and exhibition in February 2010
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