Data centres have become a focal point in energy discussions due to their rapid increase and growing electricity consumption. Questions have particularly been raised about how the energy they require can be produced sustainably and how their impact on the power system can be managed.
According to Professor Samuli Honkapuro (electrical engineering, LUT), Finland is well positioned to expand business opportunities based on renewable electricity. The country’s low population density offers excellent conditions for increasing wind and solar power generation, and the waste heat produced by data centres can be utilised to heat buildings.
A key question is how this new demand can be integrated into an energy system where most electricity generation depends on weather conditions.
The challenges of sustainable digitalisation are not limited to technology or energy production, but also involve responsibility, decision-making, and an understanding of the digital system as a whole, adds Researcher Laura Partanen (information technology, LENS). Partanen goes on to say that the demand for data centres stems from software and digital services and their use, but the centres’ environmental impacts and related responsibilities often remain unclear. Building a truly sustainable digital society requires examining the entire value chain from software design and use to data centres and energy production.
Therefore, the question is not only how the energy required by data centres is produced, but also what runs in those data centres, why, and for whose benefit.
Join us for the LUT Curious People alumni webinar in November! You will get to hear what our experts have to say about this highly topical issue. You will also have an opportunity to challenge Laura and Samuli with your own questions and comments.
The webinar will be held in English. Register here.
Schedule
16.30 Welcome to the Curious People Alumni Webinar
Päivi Mäkitalo, LUT Alumni Relations
16.35 Sustainable and grid friendly data centres
Samuli Honkapuro, Professor, Electrical Engineering, LUT
Researcher Laura Partanen, Software Engineering, LUT
17.05 Questions from the audience
17.20 Closing words, Päivi Mäkitalo, LUT Alumni Relations
Welcome!
