Revolutionizing IT with CO2-Neutral Data Centers: WindCORES Leads the Way
As efforts to harness wind energy for reducing CO2 emissions continue, a new venture in Germany is pushing forward, taking the initiative a step further.
WindCORES: A Green Future
WindCORES, a subsidiary of WestfalenWIND, a German renewable energy provider, is operating data centers within existing wind turbines in Paderborn, West Germany. According to WindCORES founder Fiete Dubberke, the concept enables the data centers to operate nearly carbon-neutrally, as most of the power needed comes directly from the host turbines.
When Dubberke discussed the importance of sustainability, he said, "The highest form of sustainability is to use what you already have." (emphasis added)
WindCORES' plan began a decade ago when WestfalenWIND realized that their wind farms were often shut down due to the limited network capacity in handling the large amounts of electricity generated during peak wind conditions. With this limited capacity, around a third of the electricity generated in these quiet periods goes unutilized, according to Dubberke. His team saw this as an opportunity to revolutionize the IT industry by completely skipping the power grid and providing data centers with direct power from the large concrete towers in wind turbines.
This innovative approach could potentially meet the power needs of more than one-third of the data centers in Germany, as WindCORES estimates.
Powering IT Infrastructure with Wind Energy
Wind-driven electricity powers data centers in WindCORES' wind farms, while fiber-optic cables ensure continuous internet connectivity on-site. If the wind does not blow, WindCORES draws power from other renewable sources such as solar parks and hydropower plants.
On average, WindCORES claims that 85-92% of the power required for their data centers comes directly from the host turbines.
Medium-sized startups to established companies like Zattoo (a Swiss TV streaming service with millions of monthly users) have adopted WindCORES' green solutions. In 2020, Zattoo moved one of its six data centers to a wind turbine farm in Paderborn, where 218 channels are currently coded. Zattoo aims to relocate more of its servers to the wind park fortifying its primary data center location.
Viliyana Ivanova, the technical leader overseeing Zattoo's WindCORES project, echoed their enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "The most significant motivation for starting the project and giving it time to succeed was the eco-friendly nature of the concept. In larger data centers, they may claim to use green energy, but there's no visible evidence in our calculations. It's not just about telling our customers we're green, but proving it."
As a streaming company with numerous 24/7 channels, Zattoo is aware of the negative environmental impact of streaming services and the need for emissions reduction. According to Zattoo, using WindCORES has so far lowered their carbon emissions by around 60 tons. Ivanova acknowledges that there's no simple solution, but stresses that businesses must continually innovate to reduce their environmental footprint.
The Future of CO2-Neutral Data Centers
Dubberke sees Zattoo as a trailblazer, praising the company for being one of the first to adopt the concept and applauding their transparency and trust that were vital for WindCORES' success.
"The IT industry is rather traditional," reveals Dubberke. "When talking to giants in the IT sector, they question an investment of millions of dollars. Our only solution is to educate them about what we do and how we do it."
As Asim Hussain, president and CEO of Green Software Foundation, emphasizes, the WindCORES concept is intelligent for tackling one of the most significant issues in the field of renewables: surplus power created by wind turbines.
"When more electricity is produced than people need, it cannot be stored, and large batteries are not available, so it is wasted," Hussain explained. "Even if WindCORES would transfer the electricity through the grid, they still have their own power center, using it for their data centers, which is an intelligent solution."
Hussain also highlights lays out technology-based innovations as an alternative to the traditional "Carbon-Aware Computing" approach that emphasizes collaboration between hardware and software developers to minimize emissions without negative impacts on performance.
However, he notes that not all workloads can profit from this concept and that scalability can be a challenge. "I don't think people fully grasp how large data centers are," he said. "Data centers are absolutely massive. Regardless of how big a wind turbine is, it will never be enough."
WindCORES has recently launched a larger site called 'wind-CORES II' in Lichtenau, housing an Automotive client in Munich (name still undisclosed). With three stories and a height of about 20 meters, it promises to expand the company's offerings to high-end clients. Although Dubberke is optimistic about the project's growth, he understands that this approach is a temporary solution.
"We believe it's the future, but not forever," Dubberke said. "The society will become greener and more sustainable, and at some point, green electricity will be available from everywhere, so our concept will no longer have the same dire impact. In 10 to 15 years, our concept will lose its edge as everything becomes more sustainable."
By using existing wind turbines to provide power for data centers, WindCORES showcases an innovative solution to the global quest for sustainable and eco-friendly data center operations.
