Ark Data Centres have announced that its Longcross facility, due to come onstream in 2023, will deliver the definitive blueprint for socially responsible data centres through the deployment of the latest innovations and future-proofed technologies, enabling organisations to reduce their emissions and meet their own sustainability targets.
Through this, the company is affirming its commitment to driving towards zero carbon data centres in the UK. Their Longcross data centre will enable organisations to make sustainability commitments that they will be able to achieve within the aggressive timeframes set. The data centre is being designed from inception to minimise carbon emissions and dramatically reduce waste and water consumption. Its backup generators, which in the data centre industry have traditionally been powered by diesel, will be replaced with gas generators that will have an immediate impact on reducing Nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels which have become dangerously high in city areas, impacting asthma sufferers and even mortality rates.
From day one, the generators will be future-proofed and ready for hydrogen as the UK grid transitions. Eventually using 100 per cent hydrogen will provide only energy, heat and water vapour, which will deliver zero CO2 and no harmful emissions. The site will be air-cooled delivering the lowest power usage effectiveness, the ratio that shows how efficiently a computer data centre uses energy, in the industry. The site will also incorporate extensive facilities for electric vehicles for employees and visitors. It will also feature ‘living walls’ of plants extensively around the park to absorb CO2 and offer a pleasant and attractive working environment.
“With Longcross data centre, we are reaffirming our commitment to ultimately deliver zero-carbon data centres in the UK,” Roy Gibbens, executive director of sales and marketing at Ark Data Centres said. “We are on a journey of dynamic continuous improvement utilising the latest innovations, and also future-proofing the facility so that it’s ready to take advantage of developments such as the move to a hydrogen-mix, then full hydrogen grid. In this way, our customers can be assured that they can also commit to and meet their own aggressive sustainability promises and emissions targets, which will become increasingly important to regulators, investors and the public.”
