Europe’s five biggest data center hubs produced as much emissions as 1.2 million homes in 2022, new figures claim.
According to research from DataVita, data centers in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin used 2,478 MW of energy last year, contributing to a combined annual footprint of more than 6.25 million tonnes.
Even worse, DataVita believes that moving hubs to greener areas could reduce CO2 emissions by more than 80%, illustrating how far there is to go before we get anywhere close to a greener data center industry .
Location has a huge impact on data center emissions
The study found that countries with more renewable energy sources tended to produce data centers with lower overall carbon intensity compared to countries dependent on fossil fuels.
DataVita says that theoretically moving all five hubs to Scotland could reduce emissions by more than 80%. Moving the hub from Frankfurt – the most carbon-intensive – to Scotland would cut emissions by as much as 91%.
Frankfurt’s average carbon intensity was estimated at 473.62 g, compared to 200.46 g in London. A move to Scotland would drop this to 54.97 grams, according to National Grid data for 2022.
Scotland also has a cooler climate than many other European regions, reducing cooling needs somewhat.
DataVita Managing Director Danny Quinn summarized: “If organizations are serious about reducing the environmental impact of their IT services, they need to take a close look at where the critical infrastructure they use is located.”
Quinn acknowledged the existing work being done to optimize the effectiveness of power consumption, water consumption and waste heat recycling, adding that industry growth increases the challenge, but a geographic shift could have broader economic benefits, including creating jobs in new areas.