TALKING

Coined by some as the fourth revolution in agriculture , vertical farms today provide closed conditions which deliver major sustainability benefits including limited or zero use of pesticides , while ensuring the farm is safe from extreme weather-related events such as high temperatures , humidity , floods and fires .

One point to note , however , is that vertical farms are particularly energy intensive . For example , a survey of indoor vertical farms found they used an average of 38.8 kiloWatt hours ( kWh ) of energy for each kilogramme of produce , which was more than seven times the energy used by regular greenhouses . With the increased pressures of spiralling energy costs and access to space , a concern for smaller startup organisations and data centres could now provide a compelling solution for a new generation of farmers and help both industries reach new levels of sustainability .

Sustainability and data centres

Today the data centre industry is facing many significant challenges . One of the most prolific is new sustainability mandates across Europe and this will soon affect the UK and Ireland . This includes the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ( CSRD ) and Energy Efficiency Directive ( EED ) which force data centre stakeholders to not only double down on their sustainability efforts but to ensure they are transparent and measurable at every step .

In recent years , data centre sustainability strategies have included the provision of energy efficient power and cooling systems , modernisation projects for inefficient legacy sites , the procurement of 100 % renewable energy and power purchasing agreements to support larger scale deployments . However , the landscape has evolved and data centre operators are proactively working within their supply chains to dramatically reduce Scope 3 emissions .

Clearly , being sustainable is no longer a ‘ nice-to-have ’, it is essential to the future of the data centre sector and something that is echoed by businesses across the industry . A 2020 report from 451 Research , for

example , found that 97 % of providers ’ customers are asking for contractual sustainability commitments .

Two years after this initial finding , another report by the analyst found only 26 % of participants identified as having a full life cycle sustainability programme and just 14 % were taking actions to implement it . Intent and action remain a problem .

Countries like the Netherlands are today asking for detailed sustainability plans before granting approval to businesses looking to build new facilities or expand an existing one . Similar efforts are taking place in Ireland , where the CRU has called on operators to generate as much or more renewable energy capacity , than they consume , among other key criteria .

What ’ s clear is that data centre operators have made great strides to reduce their environmental impact , but much has to be done especially in the face of the cost of living , energy and climate crises . As data centre owners and operators look for new answers and solutions to solve the muchanticipated legal frameworks and environmental requirements , vertical farms may offer the next yield in data centre sustainability .

Vertical farming and data centres

In recent years there have been major technological advances , allowing data centres to proactively seek out sustainability solutions and contribute to local ecosystems via greener digital infrastructure . Operators across the globe , for example , are seeking out opportunities to incorporate heat reuse capabilities and support local communities with precious resources via district heating systems .

David Abrahams , Key Client Manager , Cloud and Service Partners at Schneider Electric UK and Ireland

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