Securing this tariff confirms Optimum’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, and feedback from clients has been overwhelmingly positive. An additional and substantial benefit is that Optimum has been able to secure the green tariff without increasing the net unit cost to customers.
It has been estimated that around 5% of the EU’s power consumption is directly attributed to data centres, which amounts to a significant volume of megawatts per hour(MWh).
Steve Hayward, Optimum’s Facilities Director, explains: “Like most data centres in Northern Europe, it is not possible to generate sufficient power on site using PV (solar) generation; nor does our geographical position afford us the luxury of wind generation. However, this also does not mean that the industry should not pro-actively explore all other avenues in order to identify and utilise power that is 100% renewable. We are delighted to have now achieved this.”
Last year in the UK1, approximately 15,500MW of power was generated from renewable energy which equates to around 11.5% of the total generation in the UK. Hayward believes that this means that the UK unfortunately still has a long way to go in order to meet the targets set by the government - using 20% renewable energy sources by 2020.
He adds, “There has been much discussion recently around rising energy costs and profits, but it must also be remembered that increasing the production of renewable power requires significant investment.
As major energy consumers, data centre operators have the opportunity to add impetus to this investment process. Increased demand for renewable energy will gradually lead to an increase in supply and, at Optimum in particular, we are determined to continue investing in green energy and will absolutely support the move to renewable energy wherever possible.”
