Aggreko has launched its Greener Upgrades initiative in an effort to achieve more sustainable data centre construction.
Aggreko is set to invest around £30m in sustainable temporary solutions before the end of the year, as part of its wider decarbonisation strategy. This follows research by the company which highlighted grid access as a top priority for UK and Irish contractors during the data centre construction phase. With larger projects taking more time more to establish a connection, temporary power and temperature control is required in the interim.
Over the next 10 years, the company will aim to both reduce the amount of diesel used in its fleet and as well as local air quality emissions from its equipment by 50% each. Aggreko has introduced its low emission Stage V compliant generators to its fleet, and developed the use of hydro treated vegetable oil (HVO) as a drop-in fuel to reduce local emissions of carbon dioxide.
Aggreko’s ultimate goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across all business operations by 2050.
Billy Durie, Global Sector Head for Data Centres at Aggreko, said: “With pressing climate commitments growing in the global conscience, data centre operators are leading the way in re-evaluating the environmental impact of their facilities. However, it’s important to recognise that this is something that goes beyond the realm of day-to-day operations.
“With the launch of Greener Upgrades, we’re trying to support contractors in their efforts to build more sustainably, by reducing both the carbon footprint and local emissions of data centre construction. Only by ensuring that the environmental impact of both construction and operation remains to a minimum can we enable the growth of truly green IT infrastructure.”
He concluded: “With this investment, we’re ensuring that data centre contractors are equipped with the tools and support necessary to build sustainably. This will prove a crucial development going forwards, especially when both growing demand for data and net zero targets are considered.”
