New London data centre to heat Docklands homes

News Article - 14 December 2009
Category: Environment

A giant data centre under construction in east London will heat nearby residential and corporate properties with 9MW of surplus heat generated by server racks. The 12,000 square metre facility, which is being built by Telehouse, is due to open in March next year.

The Telehouse project is the first data centre to receive planning permission since the city's Sustainable Development Commission - formed in 2002 - passed strict sustainability measures to reduce London's carbon footprint. Since the measures were introduced, many proposals for planning permission have struggled to enter development.

The project also marks the first time in the UK that heat export will be used as a carbon-reduction measure. In addition, the scale of the project is unprecedented, even compared to countries that have existing heat export solutions. Foreign data centres have used heat export technologies for smaller projects, such as heating swimming pools, but this is the first time it has been implemented on such a large scale.

Whilst the London sustainability requirements require all new buildings over 1000 square metres to produce 20% of their energy requirements using renewable sources, the data centre will only produce 10% via heat export. However, commentators believe the project was approved because the heat will be provided for free to the local community. It is expected heat export strategies will be favoured in future due to the communal benefits of their operation.

Kevin Misselbrook, Customer Services Director at Access, feels the data centre's sustainability is a very positive precedent. "Telehouse's data centre is representative of the level of innovation UK businesses must show if they wish to meet the Government's stringent sustainability requirements whilst remaining profitable," said Kevin. "As the importance of sustainable energy increases, businesses who cannot meet these requirements may find themselves losing market position."

Companies looking to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability will need usable, real-time data to track the impact of their carbon-reduction programmes. Access offers powerful carbon reporting functionality as standard within its business accounting software. The system is designed to help businesses of all sizes discover their most carbon-intensive activities and the areas in which changes will be most effective.

With the ability to break down statistics by department, group or even individual staff member, Access' carbon reporting software provides the necessary tools to help companies reduce their carbon footprint. At the same time it ensures carbon reduction programmes are not detrimental to profitability. As the innovative measures displayed by Telehouse become more widespread, businesses who cannot act on their carbon footprint may find themselves increasingly hampered by government sustainability requirements.

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