INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Fujitsu powers near-zero
emissions data centre inside
wind turbine
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F
ujitsu server and storage technology
is powering one of the world’s
first near-zero emissions data
centres located inside a wind turbine
in Germany. Part of the WindCORES
initiative from German electricity provider,
WestfalenWIND IT, the new hosting
solution enables Fujitsu SELECT Partner
Green IT – Das Systemhaus (Green IT) to
offer highly sustainable and cost-effective
cloud services to its customers.
Designed by WestfalenWIND IT, WindCORES
is a near zero-emissions tier three data
centre operating in Paderborn, Germany. It
forms part of Germany’s planned transition
to an environmentally sound, sustainable
energy supply, while simultaneously meeting
growing demand for cloud services. The
wind turbine data centre concept has
the potential to offset the impact of the
increased carbon footprint caused by
businesses’ ongoing Digital Transformation.
Fujitsu’s energy efficient Fujitsu PRIMERGY
servers and ETERNUS storage systems used
in the data centre are playing a key role
in minimising power consumption – with
enhanced power management to keep
overall draw to a minimum, plus the use
of highly efficient components such as
AC-DC converters and the latest generation
of cooling technology. The low energy
requirements coupled with the low-cost
electricity produced by the wind turbine
itself means that Green IT is able to pass on
substantial cost savings to customers. As a
result, the partner’s cloud-based services are
competitively priced, as well as being eco-
friendly with a near-zero carbon footprint.
Dave Hazard, Vice President and Head of
Channel and Sales Operations at Fujitsu
EMEIA, commented: “Businesses increasingly
expect their suppliers to be innovative both
in terms of the services they offer and how
they deliver them. By working with Fujitsu
to co-create a solution based around
virtualised services run from the eco-friendly
WindCORES data centre, Green IT can stay
true to its environmentally-friendly values
while providing choice and cost-effective
solutions to its customers. The company is at
the forefront of service providers creating a
new ‘green cloud’.”
Christian Hoffmeister, CIO at Green
IT, said: “We are focused on delivering
sustainable, energy-efficient and cost-
effective IT solutions for our customers.
Unfortunately, most data centres use a
considerable amount of energy derived
from fossil fuels or nuclear power, backed up
by diesel-powered generators in case of an
interruption in electricity supply.
“The WindCORES solution offered by
WestfalenWIND IT is the logical way for us
to deliver near carbon neutral services. And
thanks to Fujitsu’s power-efficient hardware
and dedicated support we are able to make
them extremely competitive.”
Dr. Gunnar Schomaker, Co-founder of the
WestfalenWIND IT Group, said: “There is
plenty of space inside many wind turbine
towers for IT and infrastructure equipment –
enabling the low-emissions distributed data
centres of the future.
“With WindCORES, providers like Green
IT are able to offer a new differentiated
portfolio of cloud services to their customers,
who also benefit from low power costs and
sustainability, plus a reduction in their overall
carbon footprint.” n
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