Khazna, the largest wholesale data center company from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced that it will introduce biofuels to its portfolio of generators, as part of its ‘Future First Strategy’, where Khazna is actively investing in renewable energy sources. The pilot project is slated to commence by the end of this year. The announcement about using biofuels was made in Dubai recently.
Speaking on the occasion, Hassan Alnaqbi, Chief Executive Officer at Khazna Data Centers said, “As technology advances, we will witness an enormous increase in data volumes. To meet this demand, data centers will require much higher density rack configurations, which in turn require more energy. Our role as an industry leader is to look at viable options to make our data centers more sustainable.”
Khazna, currently operates at least a dozen data centers in Dubai, and also has plans to expand its footprint outside the region. But as data centers are notorious energy guzzlers, Khazna is acutely aware of the challenges involved in implementing its ambitious climate-friendly initiatives.
In a statement released in September it had said, “The data center industry is urgently in need of sustainable solutions as it sees explosive growth. Currently, data centers account for about 3% of global emissions, a startling number that cannot be disregarded in our shared effort to create a better future.”
It had also said, “We are also gradually shifting from diesel fuel to biofuel alternatives, which are derived from renewable sources and release less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional fossil fuels.”
Sustainable energy challenge in one of the hottest geographical regions
The UAE is located in one of the world’s hottest regions, and this adds greater pressure on data center operators who need to focus on energy consumption, and specifically cooling needs. Khazna is mindful of this as well and says that it is “incorporating innovative cooling methods to optimize energy use and reduce power consumption.” It elaborates how it plans to do this saying, “Adiabatic-free cooling chillers, which are designed to ensure cooling efficiency during harsh temperatures and environmental conditions, offer significant energy savings, higher capacity, and minimal noise while operating.”
And it’s not just Khazna. The data center industry in UAE has consistently demonstrated their commitment to the sustainability agenda. One of the best examples of this is the Moro Hub data center facility that is located at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world. Moro Hub serves the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). In addition to being certified Tier 3 by Uptime Institute for design and construction and a Level 3+ STAR, it is the first LEED Platinum facility in the region. This data center is recognised as the world’s largest solar-powered data centre by the Guinness World Records.
Sustainability is the buzzword at COP 28, and the UAE government has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 connected aims designed to provide a “roadmap for attaining a better and more sustainable future for all people”. The SDGs, put forward by the UN General Assembly in 2015 and intended to be achieved by 2030, are part of a UN resolution called Agenda 2030.
As per a statement on the UAE government’s official portal, “Under the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, the UAE seeks to become a global hub and a successful model of the new green economy. The UAE aims to become one of the world leaders in this area as well as a centre for the export and re-export of green products and technologies, and to maintain a sustainable environment to support long-term economic growth while protecting the environment.”
According to the UAE’s Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, “The UAE primarily focuses on the SDGs that enable access to clean energy, sufficient food at reasonable prices, quality education and healthcare, alongside creating sustainable economic growth, healthy environmental systems, and increased resource efficiency. All these issues reverberate strongly in the UAE. The UAE has also pledged to “leave no one behind” and to push the world towards a sustainable and resilient path.”
The UAE is thus emerging as an oasis of sustainability amidst a literal desert.