Hong Kong: IT sector linked power demand expected to rise nearly 50% by 23 2030 end predicts a new research report. The Schneider Electric released report shares insights on how digitized and smart applications will be powered in the future.
The report titled Digital Economy and Climate Impact predicts that IT-sector related power demand is expected to increase by nearly 50% by 2030. It also points out that as the electricity system decarbonizes, emissions would not increase by more than 26% by the end of this decade.
When it comes to the IT industry, data centres remains one of the most critical and indispensable elements of the IT ecosystem. However, data centres are also infamous for their massive electricity usage as well as heat emissions. The energy usage of data centres alone would increase from 200 TWh in 2016 to 2,967 Twh (Terawatt-hour) in 2030 as per industry estimates.
Over the past many decades, the IT industry has been trying to address the issues of energy usage and emissions directly linked with data centres. The concepts of green IT and green data (the practice of environmentally sustainable computing and data centre) have helped the industry to make n some progress so far.
But the increasing emphasis on digitization across public and private sectors along with the consumer segment in recent years has also increased data centres demands.
The global data centre market will reach $174 billion by 2023 predicts research and advisory firm Arizton. However, the ongoing pandemic has further fueled the data centre demands by manifolds globally.
This growth in demands also means the data centre industry need to be more responsible in addressing issues of high electricity usage and heat emissions, improving efficiency and sustainability.
“The data centre industry had already begun entering a new generation of data centre management while COVID-19 accelerates the transformation. Businesses have to be future-ready and embrace technology innovations to march into the new era,” said Steven Lee, Director – Secure Power, Schneider Electric Hong Kong.
“Schneider Electric is advancing the industry forward by leveraging the power of connected infrastructure that meeting the demands for sustainability, efficiency, adaptability and resiliency, and pave the way to the data centre of the future,” added Lee.
Data centres of the future, according to the company Schenider Electric will need to focus on these four aspects – sustainability, efficiency, adaptability and resiliency. These four aspects will help the data centre industry to meet sustainability goals and capture the opportunities in the new normal.
“Schneider Electric has been focused on sustainability for the past 15 years and was recently was named the most sustainable corporation in the world. We have embraced the mindset that future innovation will deliver better efficiency across the broader connectivity landscape,” said Pankaj Sharma, EVP – Secure Power, Schneider Electric.
“By making smart intentional choices, our industry can help mitigate how much electricity and emissions result from the rising appetite for digital technologies,” added Sharma.