Ireland's Data Hosting Industry 2017 - "Irish Data Centres, an Industry of Substance" - SEAI
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Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 “Irish Data Centres, an Industry of Substance”
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry
2017
December 2017
This report has been part-funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland under SEAI’s Energy
Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) Fund 2017.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 2-2
Table of Contents
FOREWORD 4
SCOPE & METHODOLOGY 5
GROWTH OF DIGITAL INFORMATION 6
DATA HOSTING MODELS 7
WHY IRELAND? WHY DUBLIN? 9
MAPPING IRELAND’S DATA HOSTING INDUSTRY 12
POWER REQUIREMENT FOR DATA CENTRES 14
ENERGY USE IN DATA CENTRES 16
ENERGY USE IN CONTEXT 17
ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE DATA INDUSTRY 19
INVESTMENT IN DATA CENTRES 20
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROCUREMENT 21
SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES AND POLICIES 23
VIEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS 27
CONCLUSIONS 29
APPENDICES 30
REFERENCES 40
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 2-3
Foreword
This research has been carried out by reporting. We address energy efficiency and
Bitpoweri on behalf of Host in Irelandii to best practice in data centre design and
examine the opportunities and risks associated operations.
with the digital asset hosting industry in
Ireland. With $71 Billion of ICT Services By providing the most timely and accurate
exported in 2016iii, Ireland clearly has a update on data centre activity in the Irish
thriving digital economy. It boasts the biggest market, we believe that this baseline will act as
names in the tech industry. Dublin is now the a useful reference for policymakers. This will
envy of many of its European counterparts in be beneficial to Ireland as we look to continue
terms of the reach of its data hosting our leadership in the creation, retention and
ecosystem. exporting of digital products for the long
term.
Over the course of the last six decades, the
planet is moving at a pace not seen previously It is important to acknowledge that in Ireland
to the “always-on”, digital world we know today the supply challenges in the Data
today. Ireland (Dublin) has evolved to be Hosting Industry are as a direct consequence
ranked as a Tier 1 hosting location due to the of the pent-up demand for the Irish Hosting
evolution of its status as the "Digital Gateway product. The recent proposal by the Irish
to Europe" for US companies. This started Government to include data centres as part of
with the IBM mainframe computer in 1950's the Strategic Infrastructure Act may provide
and now continues with cloud, colocation, and clarity. If it can provide time-certainty on
managed service providers. planning applications and state-driven clarity
on energy supply it will be of great benefit to
This success is not without its challenges. How Ireland in retaining and attracting new data
will sustainability and energy use be kept in hosting opportunities.
check? What about planning? What benefits
does the industry bring to Ireland? These This report has been part-funded by the
questions appear in media reports daily and Sustainable Energy Authority of Irelandiv under
have stirred a lot of debate in 2017. SEAI’s Energy Research, Development, and
Demonstration (RD&D) Fund 2017. I would like
Today’s data centres are designed and to thank SEAI for supporting this important
operated to be much more efficient than research, and I look forward to engaging
previous generations. Energy accounts for up further with the energy policy system in
to 50% of operating costs post-construction, Ireland.
so there is a constant drive to reduce energy
consumption.
Garry Connolly
President & Founder - Host in Ireland
This report attempts to establish a baseline in
terms of the sustainability of the data industry.
We address the scale of energy use and its
growth, and explore options for better
integration with the energy system. We have
mapped the location of the leading data
Research and analysis performed by:
centres in Ireland. We look at the different
types of data hosting, and how their business David McAuley - Bitpower
models differ in terms of sustainability
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 4
Scope & Methodology
In our analysis of the data hosting industry, we We carried out extensive desktop research on
have focused on large, purpose-built data publicly available information to augment the
centres over 1MW in size. We make no data gathered and to provide a complete
attempt to quantify the smaller on-site IT picture of the sustainability of the industry. We
facilities that exist in many businesses. There is developed a reckoner based on industry
a trend towards most IT capability moving to metrics. Using a combination of satellite
the cloud, co-located or managed services imagery to measure the scale, and metrics to
facilities. The data has a physical presence, in establish the power demand, we have
the form of large data hosting facilities. Such calculated the power capacity of 60 data halls
facilities offer economies of scale, flexible built or planned in Ireland. The numbers were
growth, and secure connectivity to the wider then compared with information from planning
world. applications, press releases, and utility data.
The aggregation of these sources is the basis
Our survey, a copy of which can be found in for the findings in this report.
Appendix I, included questions on location,
scale, growth, motivation to locate in Ireland,
parent company origin, jobs, energy use,
efficiency, sustainability measures, renewable
energy procurement, and data content.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 5
Growth of Digital Information
We all interact with digital information in our Not all data is the same. Financial exchanges
daily activities. From email to social media, require the most secure ultra-low latency
our demand has grown exponentially since the connections. London and Frankfurt invested
arrival of smartphones in 2007. Video heavily in fibre connectivity to support their
streaming consumes the biggest portion of financial districts, leading to the growth of the
the total world data bandwidth. This trend is data industry in these cities. Social media sites
shown in Figure 1 below. We have grown used might store your most recent information
to information and services being available locally for instant availability, but archive your
online. Many businesses have prioritised their older documents in more distant locations
online presence and describe themselves as where energy costs, for instance, might be
digital-first companies. For example, online lower. Businesses require access to multiple
shopping has grown and is expected to providers to support their operations. This
double in Ireland by 2021v. According to the includes email and office applications, data
EU Commission, Data is new the driver for management, marketing, social media,
productivity, jobs, and innovation.vi design, and so on. Software is now offered as
a service.
We all create data, probably without realising
it. Each iteration of smartphone produces The cloud is the collective name for where all
increasingly higher resolution photos and this data is processed and stored. Despite the
videos. The trend towards storing this name, the cloud is a real, solid, and physical
information online instead of on our home entity. It consists of data centres connected by
computers is the basis of the “Cloud”. fibre optic cables across the globe.
Figure 1 - Cisco Visual Networking Index.vii
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 6
Data Hosting Models
Data centres are custom-designed energy
efficient facilities built to store and forward
Colocation Wholesale Data
data securely. They need resilient power and Centres
fibre connectivity. Our study reveals that data
centres of different types tend to cluster and Due to the phenomenal growth of
evolve together. the Hyperscale sector, there is a
trend towards private investors
Types of Data Hosting and/or third party wholesale
colocation companies to fund,
build and lease facilities to hyperscales. In this
The data industry is composed of different
model, the third party constructs the facility
types of operators. Traditional data hosting
and the hyperscale leases the internal (white)
was implemented on-site, where a business or
space. This happens where the demand for
government department would host its own
space outpaces the speed at which the
data on servers located in the building. As
hyperscale can build its own facilities.
demand for data grew and services became
Operating costs including energy costs are
more diverse, these facilities began to be
passed on to the client. There are several such
outsourced. Paired to that is the emergence of
facilities in operation and planned in various
very large product, app, and data storage
locations across Ireland. EdgeConnex is the
providers, who build their own, very large,
largest example of the colocation wholesale
centres. The distinctions between the different
model. Gemini and JCD are new entrants
types of data centre are explained below.
using this model.
Hyperscale Data Centres
Colocation Data Centres
Colocation data centres provide
managed facilities for partial use
by third parties. IT managers can
lease “white space” in these
The term Hyperscale is usually used to refer to
facilities which include power and
large companies that manage the hosting of
cooling. The facilities are highly secure and
data for their clients. There may be as many as
need to meet industry standards to attract
twenty such operators worldwide, depending
clients.
on how they are defined. In Ireland, these
include Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and
It is worth noting that when companies such as
Facebook. These are household name
Microsoft and Google first considered
corporations that build and operate their own
operating in Ireland, they began by leasing
data facilities to their own specifications. For
space in colocation facilities. The quality of
security and competitive reasons, their internal
hosting and the ease of doing business in
architecture and design are kept mostly
Ireland was such that these companies gained
private.
confidence in Ireland’s capabilities.
Hyperscale data operations in Ireland
Major colocation providers with Irish
represent about 300 MW of connected power,
operations include InterXion, Keppel Data
increasing to 760 MW over the next seven
Centres, Digital Realty, and Equinix. Five of
years.
the top nine big colocation providers
operating in Europe have an Irish presence.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 7
Leading US colocation providers Cyrus One
and Serverfarm have also announced their
Edge Data Centres
intent to develop facilities in the
The Edge is where we access
short/medium term. Because of the diversity
the data. It is where the
and nature of the colocation business, the
“eyeballs” view the content.
collation facilities can accommodate up to 100
There is a growing need to
telecom providers who connect their facilities
have specialist data centres
to the local Hyperscale providers or connect
located near the edge to
to their other global facilities. The combined
improve user experience. The term “Edge”
colocation power in Ireland is 100 - 120MW
can also describe distributed data
across 12 buildings.
infrastructure designed to facilitate the
deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Private Data Centres Edge Data centres are expected to appear in
cities when 5G communications mature. In
The smallest subgroup of Data terms of energy demand, we expect edge
Centres in Ireland is the data centres to be in the 500kW to 1MW
purpose built / enterprise / range. We have not identified any existing
private type. This is because Edge data centres in Ireland in this study, and
they are often built for a we have not estimated their growth in our
specific type of operation. model, but we do expect them to begin
They include telecoms operators, financial appearing in the next 12-18 months. In the
transaction processing companies, and context of Ireland, they could be classified as
computer graphics specialists. Their scale is micro or containerised data centres due to
relatively small in comparison with the larger size and latency considerations.
centres, and they do not have the same
modular design. We have included 30MW to
capture their scale. Private operators are In 2016, Hyperscales made up 75% of the
mostly excluded from this study, but they total digital hosting capacity in Ireland. [see
remain an important part of the ecosystem. Figure 2].
Figure 2 - Relative scale of digital hosting types in Ireland in 2016.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 8
Why Ireland? Why Dublin?
The commercial data hosting industry Ireland’s temperate climate is NOT the
originated as a US Phenomenon. Ireland has primary reason data centres set up in Ireland.
strong relationships with American
corporations and is physically the closest Ireland’s climate is advantageous in an
European country to the US. international context, but most data
companies have a worldwide presence,
Sixty years of innovation and working with the operating facilities in many global regions.
world’s largest, particularly US, ICT companies Ireland compares with other European
have evolved into now making Ireland an EU countries with similar climate conditions,
Tier I location for data hosting. This, in turn, Nordic countries have cooler weather. Climate
has created the need for data centres. For conditions (weather) rank further down the
instance, Corporations like Microsoft and decision-making process than other factors.
Apple have consistently designed, built and
distributed their products from Ireland for over This can be seen in Figure 4 below for cooling
thirty-five years. The establishment of their degree days in Europe (a standard measure of
hosting facilities here is a further endorsement how much annual cooling is needed).
for Ireland as a location that they continue to
trust to assist them in building and growing
their "Connected Planet" platforms.
We asked colocation providers why they
chose to locate to Ireland. Some established a
presence in Ireland in the late 1990s, and have
steadily grown their business here since then.
The main reasons cited for setting up in
Ireland and Dublin, in particular, are:
• Off-island fibre connectivity & the T50
(diverse Dublin fibre ring) Figure 3.
• Clustering effect & critical mass
• Power availability & reliability (not price)
• Political stability
• Accessibility
• Open and Transparent Planning
• An educated and native English-speaking
workforce.
Figure 4 - Cooling Degree days in Europe -
Ireland’s climate is similar to most of northern
Europe. Sourceviii
Fact – Ireland’s temperate climate is NOT the
primary reason data centres set up in Ireland
Figure 3 - Dublin’s Fibre network (T50 in blue)
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 9
European Hosting Market The Five Ps of Location
The European data hosting industry is Host in Ireland refers to the Five Ps when
categorised by the presence of large highlighting Ireland’s digital successix. The Ps
colocation facilities in several major cities. The include People, Policy, Pedigree, Power, and
Tier I locations are sometimes referred to as Pipes. The combination of these attributes
FLAPD - Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, makes Ireland an attractive location for data
and Dublin. Dublin has joined the ranks of hosting.
these cities. Ireland’s combination of
Colocation and Hyperscale data facilities is Our open economy, pro-business approach,
unique in Europe - no other city hosts such a attractive corporation tax, common law legal
comprehensive range of industry leaders. system, and native English-speaking Data
Protection Commissioner (GDPRx) make
The key advantage that Dublin has in this Ireland attractive to global operators. Our
regard is the proximity of colocation providers pedigree includes Ireland’s track record with
to Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. It is not international pharmaceutical, biotech, and
uncommon for multinational organisations to software companies. Our people are our
have multiple platforms running in-house, co- biggest asset both at home and abroad.
located and connected to the cloud. i.e., most Power and pipes (fibre) are a pre-requisite for
businesses require connections to five or six a data industry anywhere in the world. See
different providers. They might use Microsoft’s Appendix III for a discussion on connectivity.
Azure Platform for content management,
Outlook 365 for email, Dropbox for file A sixth “P” is emerging – Proximity. The
storage, and AWS for website and retail emergence of public, private and now hybrid
hosting. Being able to quickly, seamlessly, and data clouds in proximity to the leading
securely connect to these services is colocation, managed services, and hyperscale
advantageous to online businesses. players is leading to the industry dubbing
Ireland "Home of the Hybrid Cloud".
CBRE recently demonstrated relative the scale
of the FLAPD market against Dublin’s hosting Like all forms of foreign direct investment into
industry. Refer to Figure 5. Ireland, the data hosting industry has grown
from Ireland's ability to adapt to the
requirements of the global ICT industry, for
Ireland the "Data" is the “Why?”, the
"Centre" is the “How?”.
Figure 5 – CBRE analysis of the major European
markets. “Build to Suit” refers to colocation
wholesale.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 10Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 11
Mapping Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry
Understanding the physical scale and this is a composite image and does not
evolution of the cloud in Ireland is important if represent one site).
we are to develop sustainable solutions.
Mapping the industry reveals an acceleration A map of the locations of data hosting
of growth, and highlights a definite clustering facilities in Dublin is shown in Figure 9.
effect. This type of clustering effect in the
Dublin metro area is also seen in locations like For the purposes of aggregation of the data in
Loudoun County Virginia, London, Frankfurt this report, we have classified the data hosting
and Amsterdam. industry into several geographical areas:
Most data centres are located in the • Dublin North East (Clonshaugh)
metropolitan Dublin area (including County • Dublin North West (Ballycoolin)
Meath). Cork has one colocation facility, and • County Meath (Clonee)
there is a small number of private data • Dublin South West (including Grange
facilities in the regions. Refer to Figure 6. Castle and Profile Park)
• Dublin City (including Tallaght,
We mapped the known commercial data Parkwest, and CityWest)
centres. We found forty-one operational sites, • Other
ten buildings under construction, and twelve
sites with approved planning permission. Data centres operational in mid-2017:
These buildings are located mostly in the
Dublin region. Within Dublin, there are two
significant clusters - one near Blanchardstown
17
Data Centres operated by Hyperscales
and the other at Grange Castle.
12
Data Centres owned by Private operators
12
Data Centres operated by Colocation
providers
2.2 Million ft2
of White Space for 60,000 racks
We also mapped the locations of major
energy utilities and electrical substations to
explore the basis of grid connection
challenges. The map may be useful in
evaluating the opportunities for district
heating, or other community-based schemes.
Figure 6 – Data Centre Locationsxi
For a sense of scale, the collated image on the Figure 7 – [Previous page] Satellite imagery
opposite page [Figure 7] shows half of montage showing some of Ireland’s data centre
Dublin’s data hosting facilities to scale. (Note facilities. Images from Google maps.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 12Dublin Area
Page 13
Data Centres
This map shows all data
centres covered by our
study.
These include data centres
which are:
- Operational
- In-construction
- With planning permission
- In the oplanning process
- In masterplans
The map shows the
following types of data
centre:
- Hyperscale
- Colocation
- Colocation Wholesale
- Private Data Centres
- No Edge data cantres yet
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017Power Requirement for Data Centres
Power availability defines the size of any data
centre operation. Without a guarantee of
420 MW
Total connected data centre power capacity in
power availability, the data centre business
2017
model would not work. Facilities are built
never to exceed the power available.
150 MW
Our study identified forty-one operational data centres in construction in 2017
data facilities of various types in Ireland. Ten
new buildings are in construction in 2017, and
a further twelve have approved planning 180 MW
permission. We have identified five data with full planning permission
centres in the planning process, and up to
twenty data halls indicated in masterplans 70 MW
submitted for planning.
in the planning process
To calculate the power capacity, we have
aggregated data from several sources. We 185 MW
first calculated the total maximum power Masterplans
capacity across all facilities identified using a
methodology described in Appendix II. Power
capacity relates to the infrastructure required
~1,000 MW by 2024
Total requirement for power capacity
to deliver power through the national grid. Up
to 40% of energy costs are based on the
These numbers assume that all approved and
Maximum Import Capacity (MIC). Energy users
proposed projects will proceed. In the Dublin
cannot exceed their MIC without incurring
area, the total demand growth would be as
high penalty charges. Data centres who sell
described in Figure 10. Circles represent the
space cannot sell more power capacity than
MW size in each region in 2017 and 2024.
they can guarantee to each client.
Figure 8 - Projected scale and Growth of Ireland's Data Centres
Figure 9 - [Previous page] Map of Dublin Metropolitan area data centres.
Figure 10 - [Next Page] Map of the projected growth in data centre capacity in Dublin.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 14Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 15
Energy use in Data Centres
The numbers calculated in the previous We have applied a power utilisation factor of
section indicate the scale and growth of the 45% across the industry to reach an estimate
installed and planned power capacities of data of the total energy use. This is justified for our
centres in Ireland. It is important to note that study as many of the data centres we have
these are maximum numbers. The actual examined have only recently been
energy demand is lower in practice. Many constructed, and will not necessarily have
factors affect power utilisation: demand for been fully fitted out. Our model can be
data; client build-out rates; outside adjusted in the future.
temperature, etc. While these factors are
sometimes out of the control of the operator,
demand profiles for data centres tend to be
45%
Assumed annual power utilisation factor for
relatively flat on a day-by-day basis.
data centres.
It is not unusual for power utilisation in data
centres to be as low as 30% on an annualised 1.4 TWh
basis. It can be assumed that hyperscale Estimate of annual energy use
operators are better placed to optimise
energy demand to avoid over-provisioning, The total energy use for all operational data
and could potentially average a demand of centres in Ireland is estimated to be 1.40 TWh
70% of their power capacity. in 2016. Ireland’s total electricity use in 2016
was 27.6 TWh. Data centres represent 4.8% of
The diagram in Figure 11 below (available Ireland’s electricity use - Figure 12.
from “Advanced concepts for Renewable
Energy Supply of Data Centres”xii) The world’s data centres used 416.2 TWh in
demonstrates the difference between power 2016xiv. Ireland’s data centre energy use
design capacity and operational capacity over represents 0.34% of the data industry total.
the initial lifecycle of a data centre.
Figure 11 - Ramp-up of data centre power
utilisation.
Operators work hard to utilise their power
assets optimally. The Green Grid has
proposed a new Open Standard for Data
Centre Availability (OSDA), covering
resilience, efficiency, and sustainability.
Interxion has proposed new open design
standards that better facilitate innovative
power technologiesxiii.
Figure 12 - Data Centre energy use as a percentage
of Ireland's total electricity use in 2016.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 16Energy use in context
How does 1.4 TWh (1,400,000,000 kWh)
compare with the overall energy system? It
equates to 0.120 MTOE (Million Tonnes of Oil
Equivalent). Ireland’s total primary energy
requirement in 2016 was 14.3 MTOE. Data
centres, therefore, used 0.83% of all energy
(including electricity, heating, and transport)
used in Ireland in 2016 - Figure 13.
Figure 14 – Comparisons against energy sources.
In 2016, according to the Central Regulator of
Utilities (CRU), electricity suppliers purchased
8.3 TWh of renewable generation from
outside of Ireland in the form of certificates
(Guarantees of Origin) for sale to their
customers. If data centres procured all their
energy from this pool, they would have
Figure 13 - Data Centre energy demand as a consumed 17% of the total “virtual” imports.
percentage of Ireland's total energy demand in See Figure 14 for relative comparisons.
2016.
These renewable energy numbers are
Ireland’s total carbon emissions in 2016 were hypothetical for comparison only. See Figure
63,000,000 Tonnes of CO2. We discuss 15. They demonstrate that the data industry
renewable energy procurement in a later has only a minimal impact on renewable
section, but if we were to assume that the energy capacity available to Ireland. Data
data industry used only direct fossil fuelled centre operators pay a premium for 100%
power, then the data industry would represent guaranteed renewable energy. This extra
1% of total CO2 emissions. This is not a investment should help to drive the
representative figure, as renewable energy deployment of more renewable energy
procurement is standard for data centre generation by providing certainty to investors
operators. in renewable systems.
Ireland’s wind generation in 2016 was 6.5 Data centres are the most likely customers for
TWh. If data centres only procured electricity renewable generators.
generated by these wind farms, it would make
up 22% of all wind energy generated. Figure 15 – [Next Page] Digital Hosting dashboard
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 17Data Centre Capacity Construction Activity Planning Approved
Operatonal in 2017 10 New Data Centres Shovel-ready projects Digital
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017
420 MW 150 MW 180 MW Hosting
Growth Trend
Ireland’s Data Industry
Pr
Hpr
Co
Hpr
2017
Private
2017
6%
Colocation
13%
Hpr
Hy Hpr
W
Hpr
Colo
Hy Hpr
Wholesale 6%
Hy Hpr
Hyperscales
Hy Hpr
75%
Hy
Electricity Demand 2016 Construction Investment Sustainability Metrics Comparator
% of Total Electricity Demand in 2016 Cumulative 35% annual growth Industry participation in CSR reporting against energy procurement in Ireland 2016
Data Centres Data centre energy use compared to:
Ireland’s total Wind Generation
€8 Bn
22% 6.5 TWh
€6 Bn
4.8%
Guarantees of Origin
€4 Bn 17% 8.3 TWh
Ireland’s total Electricity Demand
€2 Bn
4.8% 27.6 TWh
Page 18
€0 Bn
Total Data Centre Energy use Ireland’s CO2 (assuming no renewables)
13
09
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
10
11
12
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
1.4 TWh €3 Billion by 2016, 4.8 Billion by 2017 1.0% 63 M TCO2
Based on 356 MW operational in 2016
Measuring the Sustainability of Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry
2017 Study by Host in Ireland and Bitpower part-funded by SEAI under the Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund 2017Energy efficiency in the data industry
IT Efficiencies This standardisation approach has been very
Measuring energy efficiency in the data successful. IT managers can have confidence
hosting industry is a complex task. From an that their servers, storage, and
energy perspective, the input is electricity, communications equipment will remain in
and the output is digital information; hours of warrantee at higher inlet temperatures.
streamed video, emails sent, photos
uploaded, numbers crunched, etc. Data is The facilities energy load of a data centre
different to other industries in that the output consists of power conditioning, uninterruptible
is extremely diverse. The nature of digital power supplies, air movement and treatment,
information is that its content is often and office functions. The industry has availed
encrypted and protected. Data hosting of many of the opportunities available,
providers typically do not have access to the particularly in relation to cooling. In Ireland,
content. Colocation operators often provide data centres no longer install mechanical
space in which the client places and controls chilling systems, for instance. The PuE of data
their own servers and IT equipment. centres has been reduced to 1.2 versus a PuE
of 2.7 of a decade ago. More on PuE in
Each generation of processors can do many Appendix V. Management of airflow in data
more computations than older ones, and centres has also undergone a shift, with
software optimisation methods are mature. hot/cold aisle separation equipment part of
But we cannot measure what is inside the the standard design for most data centres.
data. IT equipment in data centres is replaced
every three to five years and is on a different Discussions have identified that the following
efficiency trajectory than support hardware. factors are significant in affecting the
efficiency of a data centre:
We have excluded the IT energy load from our
discussions on data hosting efficiency, as we • Customer policies regarding space use and
have no reliable metric that that could be cooling (especially for colocation).
applied across the industry. IT efficiencies will • Economy of scale
most likely be consumed by doing more with • Utilisation of IT and space
the same input energy in the long term. In the • Standardisation
context of the energy system, the overall • Modularity
energy demand is more important.
Efficiency Support Schemes
Operational Efficiencies
Most of the survey participants already have or
From a facilities perspective, the input to a plan to avail of the efficiency support
data centre is electricity, and the output is programmes administered by SEAI. These
heat from servers and equipment. Minimising include:
the cooling load by widening the bands of
acceptable temperature and humidity in which • Accelerated Capital Allowance Programme
the IT equipment operates is now the norm. • Energy Supplier Obligation Scheme
This approach was facilitated by ASHRAE • EXEED Energy efficient design
when it updated operational temperature and • Large Industry Energy Network
humidity bands (TC 9.9), defining wider • Energy Agreements & ISO50001
operating ranges for IT equipment. This
encouraged equipment manufacturers to These schemes are welcome and have scope
design for harsher conditions. for further application across the industry.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 19Investment in Data Centres
There has been an uptick in investment in data The aggregated results [see Figure 16]
centres in Ireland in recent years. The scope of indicate that by 2016, €3 Billion had been
this study was not to quantify the full jobs and invested in data centres. There are €1.1 Billion
economic benefits, but our research does facilities under construction in 2017. A further
provide some useful insights. We have €1.6 Billion have secured planning permission,
explored reports of investment featured in and there are approximately €2 Billion
public announcements. Our model allows us indicated in various masterplans. We,
to estimate the investment in data facilities therefore, expect to see investments
based on their type and size. This information averaging €1 Billion per annum for the next 3-
may prove useful for other studies. 4 years.
To calculate the cost of each facility, we These numbers represent the investment in
applied a metric of €m per MW of data centre land, buildings and energy infrastructure only.
capacity to our model. We varied the value The computer servers, storage, and racks
depending on the type and age of the data contained in data centres are a separate
centre. We compared the results to the investment. We do not indicate how much of
investment numbers provided by survey the IT equipment is manufactured in Ireland.
respondents and to other reports of
investment.
Figure 16 - Construction Investment in Data Centres 2009 – 2021 – Cumulative.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 20Renewable Energy Procurement
Operators of colocation data centres find that renewable electricity GOs purchased. In 2016,
their clients, especially banking and corporate energy suppliers purchased the equivalent of
clients, regularly request proof of renewable 8.3 TWh of electricity traceable back to
generation attributable to their hosted data. renewable sources off-island.
The Hyperscale companies have their
motivations, driven by their public image.
Greenpeace’s annual green energy reports
also act as checks on data corporations.
Figure 18 - Electricity Supplier fuel mix 2016 -
Source - CRU.
Figure 17 - Wind farm in Ireland
Accompanying this are 2,827 MW of wind
For our survey, we defined four possible
installed in the Republic of Ireland which
energy procurement setups applicable to data
generated 6.5 TWh in 2016. On an all-island
centres:
basis, renewables counted in this manner
equated to 40.09% of all electricity purchased
• Standard grid electricity (28% renewable
in 2016. The system details each energy
assumed – which includes 22% wind).
supplier, listed in Figure 18 above (from CRU
• 100% Renewable Certificates from energy
report).
suppliers (Guarantees of Origin).
• Power Purchase Agreements with
With data centres drawing 1.40 TWh of
renewable generators in Ireland.
electricity in Ireland annually, their total
• Direct Renewable generation on site.
demand would represent approximately 22%
of Ireland’s current indigenous wind power
We reviewed public announcements from the
resource, or 17% of the GO (“imported”
hyperscale data centre operators to find that
renewables). See Figure 14.
Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook all
have a similar position in that they procure
Initiatives such as RE100 (see Figure 19 below)
100% renewable energy from their suppliers.
demonstrate the appetite of global
Apple has also made announcements that
organisations for investing in renewable
they would run their data centres on 100%
energy.
renewable energy.
Google is now the world’s largest renewable
Guarantees of Origin power customer. Microsoft recently signed a
Power Purchase Agreement in Ireland with a
The guarantees of origin (GO) system
37MW new wind farm in Kerry. Facebook has
overseen by the Central Regulator of Utilities,
publicised their agreement with Brookfield
CRU (formerly the CER) allows for this. It’s
Renewables to procure 100% of their
2016 statementxv accounts for each supplier’s
electricity from Brookfield’s 460MW Irish wind
energy sales and reports on the quantities of
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 21portfolio. Amazon stated it would power its total PSO levy. The PSO Levy increased in
new data facilities with 100% renewable October 2017, meaning the same data centres
energy. Apple is also an advocate of will contribute €14 million to the PSO in the
renewable energy procurement. next 12 months.
The Public Service Obligation Levy (PSO) is With 2,600 MW of new wind farms in
billed on the basis of MIC. It supports the peat development and a similar amount of solar PV
and renewable energy sectors. We have in the grid connection process, there is sure to
calculated the Industry’s contribution to the be sufficient new renewable energy capacity
PSO as €7.5 million per annum. The total PSO to feed the growth of the data industry, if
levy in 2016 was €350 million, meaning the these industries grow together as expected.
data industry contributed about 2% of the
RE100 is a collaborative, global initiative uniting more than 100 influential businesses committed to 100%
renewable electricity, working to increase demand for - and delivery of - renewable energy, extensively. RE100
is brought to you by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP. Both organizations are part of the We Mean
Business coalition, working with leading businesses around the world.
Apple - Apple leads the world in innovation with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s
operations in 23 countries run on 100% renewable power. Worldwide, 96% of its electricity use comes from
renewable sources, and Apple is committed to reaching 100%. Apple is also helping its manufacturing partners
lower their carbon footprint, working with them to install more than 4 gigawatts of new clean energy
worldwide by 2020.
eBay - eBay is a multinational e-trading company that connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world
– aiming to create a more sustainable form of commerce. eBay has committed to 100% renewable energy in its
electricity supply by 2025 at its data centres and offices.
Equinix - Equinix is a global interconnection and data centre provider, committed to using 100% power across
its global operations. The company has set an interim goal of sourcing 50% renewable electricity (against a
2015 baseline) by 2017.
Facebook – Facebook was founded in 2004, and its mission is to give people the power to share and make the
world more open and connected. The company is committed to powering connectivity with the smallest
footprint possible and set a goal of reaching 50% clean and renewable energy in its electricity supply mix for its
data centres in 2018. Eventually, Facebook aims to have 100% clean and renewable energy in its mix.
Google - Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information.
Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top Internet property and its brand
one of the most recognized in the world. Google is committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity and is on
course to reach this goal in 2017.
Microsoft - Microsoft, based in the U.S., is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first,
cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.
The company has been 100 percent powered by renewable energy since 2014.
Figure 19 - RE100 Renewable Energy Commitments.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 22Sustainability measures and policies
Our study explored the ways in which data For corporate standards, we checked stock
centre operators and their corporate owners market sustainability metrics, like FTSE4Good
define the sustainability of their operations. and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
For data centre efficiency, we examined The list below [Figure 20] is not exhaustive
memberships and participation in various and is intended as a guide to the scope of
government and industry reporting schemes, schemes which are relevant to different parts
such as the EU Code of Conduct for Data of the industry. Geographic differences exist,
Centres by the EU JRC, the SEAI energy which is relevant as Ireland’s digital hosting
Agreements and LIEN programmes and The partners originate from the US, the EU, and
Green Grid. Asia.
t
en
m
N
ee
E
LI
r
Ag
AI
SE
AI
SE
Amazon
Apple
Facebook
Google
Microsoft
Digital Realty
Equinix
Interxion
Keppel DC
Figure 20 – Some examples of efficiency and CSR schemes that are relevant to data centre operators from
various geographic regions. The list is not exhaustive and is for indicative purposes only. Not all schemes would
be relevant to all listed companies.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 23Wider Digital Industry Sustainability
We included the data centre supply chain sustainability reporting programmes. Again,
partners and wider industry where information this list below [Figure 21] is not intended as a
was readily available. These include many comprehensive analysis, but as an indication
large corporations with international influence. of the reach of these schemes.
The list below details participation in
Figure 21 – Examples of digital tech industry participation in selected CSR schemes. The list is not exhaustive
and is for indicative purposes only. Not all schemes would be relevant to all listed companies.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 24Efficiency Reporting
Data centres report their energy performance continuously monitor energy consumption and
and share best practice at an engineering adopt energy management in order to look for
level. Refer to Figure 20 and continuous improvement in energy efficiency.
Figure 21. The schemes below are of One of the key objectives of the Code of
particular interest. Conduct is that each participant benchmark
their efficiency over time, using the Code of
Conduct metric(s) (or more sophisticated
metrics if and when available) in order to
SEAI LIEN and Agreements produce evidence of continuous improvement
Participation in efficiency.”
The DCiE metric is applied. Currently, the EU
The Large Industry Energy Network (LIEN) is a
Code of Conduct for Data Centres is
collaborative network of energy users run by
developing new metrics around IT usage
SEAI. Annual reporting of performance metrics
efficiency. Participation in the EU Code of
is a requirement of membership of this
Conduct includes over 100 companies.
network. Energy use is indexed against the
year of joining to track relative energy
performance against a defined metric. Uptime Institute
ISO 50001 is a standardised approach to The Uptime Institute is an international body
energy management. It is built on similar that provides operability standards and
principles to familiar ISO management evaluations of site infrastructure topologies for
standards, such as ISO9001: Quality data centres.
Management Systems.
“For over 20 years, Uptime Institute has been
The SEAI Energy Agreements Programme providing customers with the assurance that
requires it’s members to commit to the their digital infrastructure can perform at a level
implementation of the ISO 50001 standard for that is consistent with their business needs,
their Irish operations. The table shows the across a wide array of operating conditions.
data operations that were members of the With its data centre Tier Standard &
scheme in 2016. Certifications, Management & Operations
reviews, Efficient IT Stamp of Approval, and
accredited educational curriculum for data
EU Code of Conduct for centre professionals, Uptime Institute has
become the defacto standard for data centre
Data Centres reliability, sustainability, and efficiency.”
The EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres Although many Irish colocation operators
provides best practice guidelines for data design to Tier III specifications, only one Irish
centres and collects performance data for Data Centre (Digital Realty DUB13-S110) is
verification that members meet minimum listed on the Uptime Institute register for
efficiency criteria. It is a voluntary scheme, and Certification of Design Documents and
energy data on individual data centres is not Certification of Constructed Facility. It also
published. It was established by the EU Joint won the 2014 Uptime Institute World energy
Research Centre. efficiency award.
“All Participants have an obligation to
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 25Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Many data centre operators report their
sustainability credentials at a corporate level.
Singapore Stock Exchange
Refer to Figure 20 and Sustainability Index (SGX):
Figure 21. Our survey identified the following
sustainability metrics that data companies are Companies listed on the Singapore stock
either participating in or make up part of their exchange report to the SGX sustainability
supply chain. index.
In 2016, the SGX introduced sustainability
Carbon Disclosure Project reporting on a “comply or explain” basis,
covering five primary components: material
(CDP): ESG factors; policies, practices, and
performance; targets; sustainability reporting
The carbon disclosure project runs a global framework; and their Board statement.
disclosure system that enables companies, Reporting will be mandatory for listed
cities, states, and regions to measure and companies after the end of 2017.
manage their environmental impacts. Over Source: SGX Sustainability Index - Full Constituent List
2016
5,600 companies reported in 2016.
While data operators do not generally report
to CDP, some data supply chain companies FTSE (London):
with operations in Ireland do report. Users of
data facilities with operations in Ireland, for
Companies listed in the UK can participate in
example - eBay Inc., are included in CDP
the FTSE4Good Index of sustainability.
reporting.
Source - CDP Ireland climate change report 2016
The FTSE and Russell indexes provide market
data for investors. Indexes include measures
of environmental performance and green
Dow Jones Sustainability revenues. “The FTSE4Good Index Series is
designed to measure the performance of
Index (DJSI), New York: companies demonstrating strong
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
US-listed companies participate in the DJSI. practices. Transparent management and
clearly-defined ESG criteria make FTSE4Good
The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is collated indexes suitable tools to be used by a wide
by RobecoSAM - “an investment specialist variety of market participants when creating or
which focus exclusively on Sustainability assessing sustainable investment products.”
Investing. “
The FTSE Green Revenues Index captures the
In 2016, 867 companies participated in the percentage of green revenues of companies
Corporate Sustainability Assessment, that are engaged in transitioning to a green
providing data for the 2016 Sustainability economy. The 2017 Index lists Apple,
Yearbook. Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet
(Google) in it’s top 10 Constituents. These
technology companies are helping to drive
the green economy.
Source FTSE Fact Sheets
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 26Views & Recommendations
Our discussions with the data industry
revealed some interesting insights into the
The Energy System
challenges and opportunities available. With The grid connection process is very different
digital hosting expected to more than double than in other EU Tier 1 locations (e.g.,
in the coming five years, now is the time to Frankfurt, London). More clarity is needed in
ensure that Ireland Inc. is ready to innovate. Dublin in particular as to availability timelines
Some of the options are explored below. for new connections to avoid uncertainties
that could impact future investment.
Infrastructure Some countries calculate fixed energy costs
Dublin’s success was built on the blend of four for large energy users based on energy used,
of the five P’s - pipes (off-Island connectivity), not the MIC. Energy users project their
power, people and pedigree with US ICT demand for the coming month.
Companies for the past six decades which led
to it being the choice for the colocation Investment & Jobs
providers in the late 1990’s (dotcom bubble).
This is evident in the clusters containing a mix There is a dependency amid Ireland’s
of hyperscale, colocation and telecoms reputation as a digital hub and its data hosting
providers, which is not easily replicable. industry. Opportunities for digital innovation
are built on access to data.
To have sustainable growth of the Data
Hosting industry outside of the Greater Dublin In terms of building the data centres - €3
Metropolitan area at a minimum these billion had already been invested in
locations will need to be able to provide constructing data hosting facilities over the
power and connectivity (Data Hosted in decade to the end of 2016 [refer to Figure 16].
Ireland is for Export) redundant and resilient Another €3 billion will have been invested in
connectivity to the 18 off-island fibres to EU / the subsequent three years to 2019.
US is a minimum. New affordable easy-to-
access dark fibre to the regions would be a A detailed job and economic benefits study
good first step. Fibre needs to be quickly would help with understanding the value
accessible in the event of faults - the National added for citizens.
Roads Authority standards for new roads
include for 100mm ducting.
Research and Development
Sustainability SFI funded research centres such as IC4,
ADAPT, and INSIGHT are delivering
Procurement of renewable energy is standard, collaborative projects with major tech
with most data operators paying a premium companies. Topics range from network
purchasing 100% renewable certified energy optimisation to data analytics and digital
from their suppliers. There is a trend for direct content innovations.
PPAs with renewable energy projects both in
Ireland and abroad. This demand for There is an opportunity for a new strategic
renewable energy will provide much-needed research cluster addressing the opportunities
investment certainty to the renewable in energy supply and district heating for data
industry, and may reduce the need REFIT centres. TCD’s Department of Economics has
schemes for renewable energy. commenced promising research in this area.
The IERC model for industry engagement with
research has proven successful. A coordinated
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 27research effort could leverage Ireland’s mature Finding customers for this heat is more
energy research capabilities in terms of policy, challenging. Greenhouses might seem like a
electricity grid, renewable energy integration, good candidate, but the warm air dispersed
and smart cities. With access to industry from computer equipment is very dry and
leaders, Ireland has a unique opportunity to would need energy-intensive humidification
become a centre of excellence. for such an application.
Skilled technicians need specialist training to District heating systems would need to have
work in the data industry. We will need more more than physical pipes in place to make
data scientists. Efforts are required in order to them feasible. They need trusted contractual
ensure there is a pipeline of trained people and financial mechanisms before we can
available to meet the industry demand. realistically capture heat from data centres.
New homes need less heat than older ones
because of improved insulation regulations.
Planning & Rates Examples in other European countries are
Time-certainty on the planning system is interesting, but they are isolated pilot projects
needed to ensure the preservation of Ireland’s and are unlikely to become mainstream.
reputation as a top-tier hosting location. This
is a national issue. Commercial rate increases Future adoption of direct liquid cooling for
in some areas have impacted the operational servers might provide more suitable heating
costs of data centres. energy, but this technology is likely only to
apply to certain applications. Combined Heat
and Power (CHP) is an option where on-site
District Heating generation is implemented, but again this
The capture of heat from free-air cooled data requires a customer to take the heat. None of
halls is technically feasible, but it is not simple. Ireland’s existing fossil fuel generation plants
The energy is low-grade (25oC – 40 oC) and sell their waste heat. Most large CHP users
would need mechanical systems to convert have an on-site heat demand (e.g., Rusal
the heat energy into a useful resource. Such Aughinish Alumina built 150MW of CHP in
systems bring inefficiencies and risk. Microsoft 2005, but they use the heat on site and sell
recently included district heating connections the electricity to the grid). Dairy and brewing
in its planning application for developments at operations also utilise CHP, but they have the
Grange Castle. in-house heat demand to make this
technology economically feasible.
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 28Conclusions
As the “Connected Planet” becomes a reality, With up to 70% of post-construction operating
the need has arisen to securely store and costs allocated to energy, the relationship
forward the “oxygen” on which this growth is between the energy generation, distribution,
based. Data is a global challenge. Ireland is in and supply needs to improve to allow both
a unique position and has built on its sixty the provider of the energy and the purchasers
years of experience to be considered a Tier 1 (data centres) to develop a model that
EU hosting location and “Home of the Hybrid provides both sides with more visibility and
Cloud”. The products and services that are certainty on cost and availability.
hosted, stored, and exported from Ireland’s
Data centres are very much part of the €71 Sustainability measures already apply across
Billion ICT services export industry. the full spectrum of the industry. Digital
companies are under increasing pressure to
The two most important aspects of any demonstrate efficiency and renewable energy
business are costs and time certainty. The data procurement. More tangible links between the
hosting industry is no different. The demand data and renewable energy industries are
for Ireland’s hosting product is putting strains becoming evident. This presents a new
on our ability to deliver on the supply. This is opportunity to accelerate the deployment of
particularly true in the metropolitan Dublin wind and solar projects at commercial scale
area. The provision of power through the without requiring REFITs. Recent government-
national grid is struggling to match the global backed energy incentives to attract data
demand. The recent decision by the Irish centres in the Nordic countries are likely to
Government to include data centres as an increase the price delta on the unit price of
asset class into the Strategic Infrastructure Act energy in Ireland compared to Nordic regions.
is intended to provide more time certainty on Most of the data stored in Ireland’s data
the planning process and allow data centre centres are exported within the EU28
business owners to plan with more accuracy. countries. Ireland is essentially a data
exporter. Data has a much higher economic
The metropolitan Dublin area in the near term value than the energy that powers it. We
will continue to be the focal point for should recognise this when trying to evaluate
expansion due to the clustering effect and the sustainability of the data industry.
access of the off-island fibre networks to the
market (EU). With the new and proposed off- Investment in data centres is significant, and
island fibre connectivity in Cork, many of the the data industry supports many jobs across
initial ingredients are building. Irish colocation the economy. There are also opportunities in
and managed service data centre providers the content of the data. We are only at the
are showing very sustainable growth of 50% beginning of the digital age, and Ireland
over the next six years. The addition of needs to be ready to leverage future trends in
hyperscale and wholesale colocation is data.
providing the greatest challenge as they are
anticipating a 100% increase over the same Collaboration between the data centre
period. operators, the state utilities, renewable
developers, researchers, state agencies, and
Data centres are designed and built to local authorities will be key to unlocking future
operate as efficiently as possible with more opportunities.
visibility and certainty on cost and availability.
By their nature, they never use the full power
capacity of their grid connections. This is at David McAuley
odds with how the Irish utility operators Founder & CEO, Bitpower
finance grid infrastructure upgrades. Host in Ireland Advisory Council
Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2017 Page 29Appendix I
Survey Questionnaire
Measuring the Sustainability
of Ireland’s Data Industry
Survey
Company
Contact
Date
Survey by
Topic Question Pick
Company Details
Geographic Details: Number of sites in Ireland
Data Centre Size
Physical Location(s) In Ireland:
• Dublin North
• Dublin South
• Cork
• Other (please provide details)
How Long in Ireland?
Location is Sensitive Information
Parent Company Location of Parent Company
Percentage of global data centre capacity located in Ireland
Investment in Ireland (€) to date
Planned Investments (€) in Future
Business Model Hyperscale (Own Data Centre)
One Client Lease (To Hyperscale)
CoLocation Wholesale
CoLocation Retail
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Other
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