Tim Hysell, CEO, ZincFive, delves into the strategies being deployed by data centre operators to ensure compliance with regulations and promote environmental stewardship.
If 2023 was the year AI took the world by storm, 2024 is the year that regulators took notice. Around the globe, rules are being drafted, passed and implemented to ensure that the development of AI doesn’t infringe upon human rights or universal values and priorities, such as environmental stewardship.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Europe, where regulators have been busy approving new rules over the use of AI, as well as its underlying infrastructure, including data centres. At the same time, regulators claim they want to foster an environment that encourages AI innovation. According to the European Union: ‘The European AI Strategy aims at making the EU a world-class hub for AI and ensuring that AI is human-centric and trustworthy.’
Implementing regulations without stifling innovation is always a challenge. Enacting sustainability rules will be especially challenging now, as AI dramatically increases the digital economy’s energy consumption. In Europe, sustainability is at the forefront, but this new dynamic has left the path forward somewhat unclear. It will be up to regulators and industry stakeholders alike to live up to sustainability expectations while supporting Europe’s fledgling AI ecosystem.
The energy demands of AI
Artificial Intelligence became a mainstream tool in late 2022, with the launch of OpenAI’s virtual assistant, ChatGPT, an advanced Large Language Model (LLM). Not long after, the energy implications of AI became clear. The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that ChatGPT uses on average 2.9 watt-hours (Wh) of electricity every time it answers a user request. By comparison, a typical Google search takes just 0.3 Wh.
In 2022 – with little to no LLM deployments – data centres consumed 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity globally, accounting for 2% of the world’s energy usage. However, with the emergence of purpose-bult AI data centres for LLM workloads, that is changing quickly. Earlier this year, the IEA forecast that by 2026, the electricity consumption of data centres could more than double, surpassing 1,000 TWh.
In the EU, data centres in 2018 consumed 76.8 TWh of energy, accounting for 2.7% of the region’s electricity demand. By 2030, it could reach at least 3.2%. With AI on the rise, as well as other energy-intensive technologies like virtual reality and cloud gaming, Ireland’s data centres could double their electricity use by 2030, according to IEA estimates, while Denmark’s data centres could see a six-fold increase in the electricity use.
Europe’s new data centre sustainability rules
Amid this environment of new, energy-hungry AI applications, the EU is about to implement new sustainability rules. Starting in September, data centre operators in EU nations will have to follow the updated Energy Efficiency Directive. This will require them to regularly disclose their energy and water consumption, demonstrate their use of renewable energy sources and measure the effectiveness of cooling systems, among other things. The goal is to reduce EU energy consumption by 11.7% by 2030, relative to the forecast energy consumption for 2030 made in 2020.
Data centre operators will also have to follow new sustainability requirements included in Europe’s pioneering AI rules. Earlier this year, the EU passed the AI Act, the world’s first major piece of legislation to impose rules governing the use and development of AI. The law creates a framework of principles for regulating AI. For instance, given the risks associated with biometric identification systems, the use of remote biometric identification in public spaces for law enforcement purposes is, in principle, prohibited.
In terms of sustainability, the new law will require some AI practitioners to document and report on AI systems’ energy consumption, as well as the energy-efficient development of AI models.
However, as noted by digital policy expert José Renato Laranjeira de Pereira, European lawmakers did significantly weaken the environment-related provisions in the AI Act before approving it. This move seemingly speaks to the concern lawmakers have over imposing onerous regulations.
The next move for data centre operators
While the regulatory environment in Europe may still be in flux, many data centre operators have historically focused on energy management issues as part of their sustainability efforts and, therefore, should be ready to meet some minimum requirements.
When regulators come knocking, for instance, data centres should demonstrate their embrace of ‘circularity’ – a holistic approach to minimising waste and pollution. This means that data centre operators will have plans for using equipment with long lifespans and for recycling or reusing their infrastructure. Resources, like tools from the CEDaCI (Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry) project, can help data centre stakeholders make sustainability-focused decisions, such as how to refurbish or properly dispose of servers.
Certain pieces of infrastructure lend themselves to this sustainable approach, such as battery backup systems powered by nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries. NiZn batteries are highly recyclable, making them a logical component of a ‘circular economy.’ Additionally, NiZn batteries’ lifetime greenhouse gas emissions are 4X lower than lead-acid emissions and 6X lower than lithium-ion emissions. They’re also made with common, widely available, conflict-free materials. Supporting documentation and life cycle analysis reports are also being actively developed to help guide and assist customers on their sustainability journey.
Meanwhile, NiZn batteries have an operating life up to 3x that of traditional lead-acid batteries, and thanks to the stable, non-corroding positive nickel current collector in nickel-zinc batteries – they don’t go into thermal runway at the cell level, providing lower risk operations in the data centre. There are also options for NiZn drop-in replacement for lead-acid UPS batteries using the same charging system – creating a smooth replacement process.
Choosing the right power and backup systems is simply the first step data centre developers and operators should take to prepare for the new regulatory environment in Europe. The advancement of AI will only make sustainability goals harder to reach, making smart, foundational decisions related to infrastructure all the more critical.
