Extra tags: sustainabilityAI
SEA Digital Week is back in Singapore and it’s all about data centres. Jabez Tan, Structure Research's Head of Research, who was in attendance at the event, began his keynote by mentioning the end of the three-year data centre moratorium and how Singapore is entering the “pilot phase” on the new data centre projects.
Due to a lack of space and energy, Singapore had imposed a freeze on new data centre developments from 2019. However, it has recently begun to hint that the limits will be eased, with the Communications Minister recently announcing that, as part of a pilot initiative, the city-state will begin accepting applications for new data centre expansions in Q2 of 2022.
“By Q4 of 2021 and in Q1 of 2022, the government announced a limited easing of the moratorium through a virtual session led by SGTech along with other government agencies and industry players, where they are going to put in place a “pilot phase” program that will begin in Q2,” explained Tan.
During the initial pilot phase, only a small number of new developments will be permitted, after which the government will examine the results and energy impact before considering further relaxation of limits.
He mentioned that the Singapore government's, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is attempting to establish specific specifications for this trial phase programme, with the power usage effectiveness (PUE) for data centres apparently being mandated to be 1.3 or below. Innovation and sustainability solutions must be included in the application criteria, and applicants with experience building and running data centres in Singapore will be considered ‘favourable’. After the pilot phase, the government will assess the results 12-18 months later.
"I believe what the government is looking for is for industry participants to really step up and show and prove creative ways of addressing data centre efficiency, data centre sustainability, and how can you incorporate renewable energy sources into your overall data centre build, data centre energy plan on a regional and global basis," Tan explained.
Building a Sustainable Data Centre of the Future
As Singapore seeks to enable the calibrated growth of data centres with best-in-class methodologies, technologies and practises for energy efficiency and decarbonisation, the challenge is whether Singapore is capable of building data centres sustainably.
Data centres are implementing a variety of sustainable solutions to reduce carbon emissions and promote positive change. Companies are getting new chances to reduce waste and enhance energy efficiency as emerging technologies such as AI and digital twins emerge.
These technologies are presently acting as drivers of sustainability, according to Joycelyn Longue, Head of Strategic Marketing & Sales, Red Dot Analytics, because their applications have a substantial influence on lowering carbon emissions.
“The demand to accelerate the digital transformation is not just the implementation of new technologies but also the realignment of operational processes and approach to fully leverage emerging technologies. This is the move from reactive to a proactive approach,” said Joycelyn. “The data centre of the future is no longer just about space, time, and availability, it would be about innovation, sustainability, and reliability for all stakeholders.”
She pointed out how digital twins play a key role in data-driven decision making, enabling operators to test various scenarios before actions are taken in the real world.
Where sensor data isn't accessible, the digital twin can fill in the gaps with AI. She also discussed how AI can help validate some of the recommendations made by the digital twin, which would allow what if and best scenario simulations to run concurrently to establish the optimal methods for maximum availability, capacity, and energy efficiency.
“This enables operational expenditures to be streamlined and increased data centre design effectiveness. Essentially, the digital twin is a virtual copy for improved energy monitoring because it has prediction and is able to enhance energy efficiency and significantly reduce the overall energy consumption,” she explained.
Joycelyn concluded that using a digital twin in conjunction with AI technology to analyse historical and real-time data can help data centres cope with the increased complexity of the current data centre environment while also achieving considerable long-term and operational cost savings.
The SEA Digital Week is an annual event that explores everything from data centre transformation to IT infrastructure. And this time, it puts the significant game-changing innovations in the industry at the forefront of the discussion, as well as the repercussions they have for all major players in Southeast Asia's Cloud Ecosystem.
The event was jam-packed with keynotes and panel discussion sessions led by curated professionals who highlighted various market insights and trends in the cloud, data centre, and IT industries, as well as discussing current updates in this ecosystem with the experts.
