Data centers save millions of liters; environmental impact is praised.

A unique closed water cooling system saves an incredible five gigalitres of water per year – that’s 5,000 million litres – in 13 data centres operated by the CDC in New Zealand and Australia.

The company says it saves 706 million litres every year at its two Auckland centres alone – the equivalent of 280 Olympic-sized swimming pools – compared to similarly sized data centres around the world.

Andrew Kirker, executive director of the CDC in New Zealand, calls this a huge sustainability success story. “We save five gallons of water every year across all our campuses, demonstrating that data centers don’t need a lot of water for cooling,” he says.

The key to this incredible feat is the closed-loop system developed by the CDC, which largely eliminates the reliance on water to dissipate the heat generated by the IT equipment stored in the centers.

The CDC’s operations have been recognized with the Schneider Electric Sustainability Impact Awards. Schneider Electric is a global specialist in energy management and automation and its devices power the CDC’s closed-loop system.

Joe Craparotta, vice president of Secure Power, Pacific Zone at Schneider, says CDC is an example of what Schneider calls an “impact maker”: a company that doesn’t just talk about sustainability but puts its ambitions into action at the intersection of technology and decarbonization.

“Actions like these impact our daily lives and will help create an energy efficient, safe and reliable future for generations to come,” he says.

Data centers use a lot of energy to power their customers’ IT equipment and dissipate the heat that comes with it. For many data centers, using water to dissipate this energy is critical to preventing critical system failures.

Kirker says traditional cooling methods, such as water-based evaporative cooling, are still widely used in the industry – a practice that results in significant water loss and diverts the resource from the communities where the data centers operate.

“Traditional data centers use on average more than three glasses of water (800 ml) per second per megawatt of power,” he says. “With our closed system, however, we only need to fill the system once and can then circulate it continuously throughout the life of the data center.”

“At Silverdale and Hobsonville (the CDC’s Auckland facilities), we only had to fill our systems once with just 190,000 litres when we opened two years ago. If we were running a conventional system, our water consumption would be pretty scary.”

He says the level of water use in water-stressed regions is a cause for concern: “This is particularly the case in Australia and is becoming a problem in New Zealand too. Although we managed quite well last year, just two or three years ago Auckland was experiencing water shortages and was negotiating to take water from the Waikato River.

“Our goal is to become the world’s most water-efficient data center provider and we have taken a conscious approach to implementing the closed-loop system,” he says.

Kirker says CDC’s modern data centers are more efficient and sustainable than older ones and have become significantly more energy efficient over time, resulting in big savings on the network compared to hosting IT systems on individual customers’ premises.

“By aggregating with other large organizations and creating economies of scale in a data center like CDC, the efficiency of the electricity used alone can be reduced by up to a third, allowing more power to be fed into the grid,” he says. “It’s like switching from private, single-person gasoline-powered cars to shared electric buses as a mode of transportation. This reduces carbon emissions and takes the pressure off the roads.”

Founded in 2007 by its visionary CEO Greg Boorer, CDC now operates 14 data centers in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.

Kirker says their water target is just one aspect of their “vigorous approach to sustainability”. Our centres in New Zealand use 100 per cent renewable energy and have been Toitū (Net Carbon Zero) certified since their first year of operation. Toitū certification is proof that an organisation is making a positive contribution to the environment by measuring, reducing and offsetting its carbon footprint.

“Both the Silverdale and Hobsonville campuses are Toitū Enviromark Diamond certified for their broader environmental credentials, such as a zero waste strategy,” he says.

Kirker says CDC has had a good relationship with Schneider Electric since the company was founded in 2007.

“We have co-innovated with them on a number of key systems, such as Schneider’s in-row cooling combined with CDC’s closed cooling water loops. Schneider is considered one of the most sustainable companies in the world and the equipment they supply ensures that the materials throughout our supply chain are as environmentally friendly as possible. Schneider’s focus on lifecycle sustainability is important to us and our customers.”

According to Craparotta, Schneider’s relationship with CDC is aimed at ensuring sustainable, safe and reliable solutions for CDC customers. More than 75 percent of Schneider’s solution portfolio, including software, energy management and sustainability services, is represented in CDC centers.

“As an impact maker himself, Schneider’s goal is to empower everyone to make the most of our energy and resources.”

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