How Green Is My Internet?Comparative Case Study Of Nine Finnish IT Companies’ Energy Use

iCOAL FINLAND BACKGROUND PAPERHeikki Lindfors

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AbbreviationsCRAC ComputerroomairconditioningunitGHG GreenhousegasIT InformationtechnologyICT InformationandcommunicationstechnologyRE Renewableenergy

1 Introduction: what is cloud? 3

2 Methodology 4 2.1Researchobjectives 4

3 Results 5 3.1Companyratingsexplained 6 Academica 6 Dna 6 Elisa 7 Ficolo 7 Fujitsu 8 Herman IT 9 Innofactor 9 Tieto 9 TDC 9 TeliaSonera 10 3.2Resultsummary:usualenergyefficiencytechnologies 10

4 Discussion 12 4.1RenewableenergyuseinFinnishICTsector 12 4.2Doespriceofelectricitypromoteenergysavings? 12 4.3Energysavingsinmobilenetworks 12

5 Recommendations 13 5.1Recommendationsforbusinesses 13 5.2Recommendationsforpolicymakersandpublicsector 13 5.3Recommendationsforenergycompanies 14

6 References 15

Table of Contents

Text HeikkiLindforsPhotosFrankvanBiemen/EvoSwitch/GreenpeaceLayoutPietaKivelä

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Cloudcomputingisatypeofcomputingresourcethatisdeliveredtouseroverinternet.Thesoftwa-rerunsontheserver,andthedataisstoredattheserver.Someexamplesincludeweb-basedemailservices,socialnetworkservices,mediaservices,onlinenewsservices,andcloud-basedstorage.Companiescanpurchasecloudservicesthatrunofficeprogramsfromdatacenters,whichworkontheindividual’scomputer’swebbrowser.Alltheseapplicationsarelocatedatthecloudserviceprovi-der’sdatacenter,andonlytheoutputisdisplayedinuser’scomputer.Cloudcomputingservicesarebecomingmorecommonnowadays,andweusetheseserviceseverydayinourworkandprivateliveswithoutrealizingit.Anditmakesourlivesea-sier,aswedon’thavetotransferdatawithexternalharddrivesandmemorysticks.Filesareavailableonourhomecomputer,laptop,smartphones,andevenonpubliccomputers.Flexibleandefficient.

Cloudservicesprovideopportunitiestoenterpri-sesalso.Itisfaster,moreflexibleandcheapertobuycloudservicefromproviderthanbuildthesystemwithownresources.Web-basedemailandvideoconferencingservicesletemployersworkanywhere.Smallenterprisesrarelyhavefinancedepartment,buttheycanusebookkeepingcloudsoftwaretomanageincomesandexpenses,whichischeaperthanbuyinglargededicatedfinancingsoftwareandlearningtouseit.Beforecompanieshadtopurchaselargesoftwaresystems,installthemtoallcomputers,andmaintainandupdatethemcontinuously.Nowit’spossibletogetsamesoftwareoncloud,whichisupdatedandmaintain-edbyprovider.

Cloudhasitsdarksidetoo.Datacentersmightbevulnerabletohackingandothermisuse.Cloudcompaniesmakeuseragreementsusuallysothattheyarepracticallyfreeofanyresponsibilityincaseofmisuse,andtheymightreservecopyrightstoanymaterialusersuploadtocloud,including

personalphotosorsensitiveworkdocuments.Commonlegislationdoesnotexistyet.

AlthoughICTsector’scarbonfootprintisgrowingrapidly,ithasevenlargerpotentialtoreduceemis-sionsinothersectors.Dematerializationofhighcarbonfootprintproducts,efficientlogisticsandmotorsystems,remoteworkopportunities,smartbuildingsandsmartgridswouldreduceoverallenergyconsumptionofsociety.SMART2020-re-portestimatestheeverywattconsumedintheseapplicationshaspotentialtoreducefivewattsinothersectors.Thisiscalledthe“enablingeffect”.

However,theenablingeffecthasnotbeensucces-sfulinrealitysofar.Remoteworkopportunitieshavebeendiscussedformorethantwentyyearsnow,butpeoplestillwanttoworkatworkplace.Whencomputersbecamecommoninworkplaces,therewerevisionsofpaperlessoffice.Videoconfe-rencingmethodscanbringpeopleindistantplacesinimmediatecontactwitheachother,butlookingpixelatedlaggyvideofeedwithoccasionalconne-ctionproblemsmakesworkingworse,noteasier.Maybetheseapplicationswillbecomemorecom-moninfuture,butexperiencetellsthatthisenab-lingeffectwilltakeit’stime.Somecompanieshaveto be pioneers in these methods. If pioneers are successful,newworkingmethodsmightbecomethenormveryquicklyinworkinglife;smartphoneshavebeenavailableforfiveyearsnow,andeve-ryonehasonenowadays.Butjustasremoteworkopportunitieshaven’treallymaterialized,notallinnovativeworkmethodswillmaterialize,althoughsomemightusethemsuccessfully.

Inthisstudy,theenergyefficiencyandrenewab-leenergyuseofeightFinnishICTcompaniesareanalyzed,andtheirperformanceevaluatedregar-dingtheirelectricityprovider’senergymix,theirrenewableenergyadvocacy,wasteheatutilization,greenhousegaspolicyandenergyefficiency.

Introduction: what is cloud? 1 Table of Contents

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Thisstudywasmadebasedonopenquestionnai-retoeightICTcompanies(Academica,Dna,Elisa,Ficolo,Fujitsu,Innofactor,Tieto,TDCandTeliaSo-nera),otherexpertinterviews(RikuEskelinenfromFinnishAssociationforNatureConservation,JukkaMannerfromAaltoUniversity,MikkoPerviläfromUniversityofHelsinki,MarkoRuokonenandAriTervofromRittaloy),andliteraturereview(existingrelatedstudiesontopic,companies’corporateres-ponsibilityreports,companies’websites).EnergysourcedatawasavailablefromthewebsitesofelectricityutilitiesoftheICTcompanies.Otheranswersaredirectlyfromthecompanies,mightcontainpreviouslyclassifieddata,andmightnotbeavailablefromliterarysources.Therefore,thirdpartyreviewofthealldataisnotpossible.

2.1 Research objectivesTheaimofthisresearchwastoevaluateandcom-pare:

•Energyuseof9ICTcompanies.(Academica,Dna,Elisa,Ficolo,Fujitsu,Innofactor,Tieto,TDCandTeliaSonera)

•Climateimpactoftheenergyuseof9ICTcom-panies,regardingthesourceoftheirelectricity.

•Energyefficiencyinvestmentsof9ICTcompa-nies,regardingefficientequipmentandutilizationof waste heat.

•Advocacyofpromotingenergyefficiencyandrenewableenergyuse.

•Climatetargetsof9ICTcompanies.

•Transparencyof9ICTcompanies,regardingtheirenergyuseandenvironmentalimpacts.

Methodology 2

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CompanyElectricity

UtilityClean

Energy Index

Fossil Nuclear Renewab-les &

Advocacy

Waste heat

utilizati-on

GHG Policy

Energy efficiency

Helsingin Energia

54% 12% 34% B A F A (PUE: 1.15)

Helsingin EnergiaLahden Energia1

37% 38% 25% C C F B (PUE: 1,2-1,5)

Savon voima

22% 50% 28% D B A

Porin Energia

100% A D C B (PUE: 1,2-1,3)

Vantaan Energia

23% 49% 28% D B A A (PUE: 1,3-1,7)

Helsingin Energia

54% 12% 34% B F A B

Vattenfall 100% A D A B

Results 3

1DNAdatacentersatVantaaandLahtiassumedtoutilizeequal50%shareofdatacenterelectricityuse:RE:1,4TWh/2*0,54(Helen)+1,4TWh/2*0,2(Lahti)=0,518TWh37%,fossilefuels:1,4TWh/2*0,12(Helen)+1,4TWh/2*0,64(Lahti)=0,532TWh38%,nuclear:1,4TWh/2*0,34(Helen)+1,4TWh/2*0,16(Lahti)=0,350TWh25%

Criteriaforscores:Wasteheatutilizationrating:A:wasteheatutilizedinalldatacenters,B:wasteheatisutilizedinsomedatacenters,C:wasteheatisutilizedinplanneddatacenters,D:wasteheatutilizationisconsidered,F:wasteheatisnotutilized

GHGPolicyrating:A:companyhasclearandambitiousGHGpolicy,F:Companydoesn’thavepublicGHGpolicy,

EnergyEfficiencyRating:A:properenergyefficiencymethodsareinplace,andenergyefficiencyisconstantlyimpro-vedbycompany/manufacturer,B:properenergyefficiencymethodsareinplace,F:thereisroomforimprovementsinenergyefficiency

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3.1 Company ratings explained

AcademicaAcademicaismedium-sizedFinnishdatacenteroperator.TheirdatacentersarelocatedinHelsinki,underUspenskicathedralandinSuvilahti.

Renewable energy & advocacy: BAcademicapurchasesitselectricity,heatingandcoolingfromHelsinginEnergia,whichproduces54%ofitsenergyfromrenewablesources,mostlyhydropower.54%isrespectableshareamongstFinnishpowercompanies,butthereareotherICTcompaniesthatpurchaseonlyrenewableelectrici-ty.Theannualelectricityuseisbetween6-8GWhper annum.

Waste heat utilization: AAcademicaisaforerunnerinwasteheatutilization.AllwasteheatproducedbyAcademicadatacenterisutilizedindistrictheatingnetwork.

GHG policy: FAcademicadoesnothaveclearandpublicgreen-housegasreductionpolicy.However,companyhasmadeallusualenergyefficiencymeasuresandhaschosenitsenergyutilityaccordingtoshareofrenewableelectricity.

Energy efficiency: AAcademicaprovidesvirtualizationtoitscustomers,inapplications,serversanddesktops(thinclient).AsAcademica’sdatacenterishighlyoptimizedinenergyuse,majorsavingsinenergy

usecanbeachievedwhencompaniesoutsourcetheirIT-processestoAcademica.Forexample,thinclientsutilizeonlyonetenthofenergyconsumedbydesktopcomputers.Academica’sdatacenterreceivedUptimeInstitute’s“MostEfficientDataCenterInTheWorld”–awardin2010.

DnaDnaisaICTcompany,concentratedonwiredandmobilecommunications,withhostinganddatacentersevicesaswell.Companyownsandopera-tesacontry-widemobilenetwork.Thecompany’sICT-infrastructureisdistributedintosmallunitsaroundthecountry,ratherthanlargeconcentrateddata centers.

Renewables & advocacy: CCloudserviceprovidingdatacentersarelocatedinLahtiandVantaa,whichconsume1,4GWhelect-ricityannually.ThesedatacentersareservedbyLahdenEnergia(REshare20,4%2011)andHelsin-ginenergia(REshare54%).Thewholecompanyused111GWhin2011.Netelectricityconsumpti-onincreasesabout5%peryear,whiledatatransferdoublesyearly.

ShareofrenewableelectricityinHelsinkiisso-mewhathigh,butinLahtishareisusualforFinnishelectricityutility.DnaisalargeICTcompanywithhugeenergyconsumption,anditshouldmakeaclearpolicytopurchaseelectricityfromrenewablesourcestoitsownpremises.Itshouldbenotedho-wever,thatDnadoesnotownallpremiseswhereitoperates,anditcannotchooseelectricityproviderin rented premises.

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Waste heat utilization: CWasteheatisutilizedinVantaadatacenter,toheatofficepremises.Datacentersusefreecoolingformostoftheyear.DnaisplanninganewdatacenterinVallila,Helsinki.ValliladatacenterwillutilizedistrictcoolingfromHelsinginenergia,andinjectwasteheatintodistrictheatingnetwork.

GHG policy: FDnadoesnothaveclearandpublicGHGreductiopolicy.

Energy efficiency: ADnahassetusualenergyefficiencymeasuresinitsdatacenters:Therearecold-andhotaislesindatacenters,andairflowisoptimizedinsideserverrooms.PUEnumberincurrentdatacentersis1,5.PUEnumberofnewValliladatacenterwillbe1,2.

Dnaprovidesremoteworkservicestoitscusto-mers.Whenthecompanyinvestsonnewhardwa-re,usedserverhardwareisrecycledtoeducationalfacilities.

Mobile network

Dnausesmulti-radiotechnologyinitsmobilenetworkbasestations.Multi-radioallowsonebasestationtoprovide2G,3Gand4Gcoverage.DnaintakingRemoteRadio-technologyintouseinitsmobilenetworks(alreadyinuseinHelsinkiarea).Technologyallowsmobilenetworkbasestationsuseoutsideairforcooling,insteadofexternalcoo-ling,reducingbasestationelectricityuse.Companyistestingwaystoproducerenewableelectricitylocallyforremotebasestations,forexamplewithwindturbines.Testingtheseinnovationsinmobilenetworksetsapositiveexample;mobilenetworkstendtoutilizehugeamountsofelectricity.Allmo-bileoperatorsshouldinvestigatesimilartechnolo-giesandputthemtouseiftestsaresuccessful.

ElisaElisaisanICTcompany,concentratedonwiredandmobilecommunications,withquicklygrowingcloudservicesector.Companyoperatescount-ry-widemobilenetwork,butopposedtoDnaandTeliaSonera,it’sdatacenterinfrastructureismoreconcentratedintolargecities.

Renewables & Advocacy: DElisa’stotalelectricityusewas198GWhin2011,ofwhich162GWhinFinlandand36GWhinEsto-nia.Elisa’sdatacentersuseelectricityfromSavon

Voima,whichproduces22%ofitselectricitybyrenewableenergysources.ThisshareisaverageamongstFinnishelectricityutilities.Savonvoimaoperatessomewind-andhydroelectricity,butthecompanyhasnotappliedforanyREcertificate(ekoenergia,orGuaranteeofOrigin).REshareisnotconfirmedbythirdparty.Thus,ElisaanditscustomerscanonlyassumeREshareinformedbySavonvoimaistrue.

Waste heat utilization: BElisa’slargestdatacenterislocatedinEspoo,andothersarelocatedinFinlandandEstonia.Espoodatacenterutilizeswasteheatandfeedsitintodistrictheatingnetwork.Annually,Espoodatacen-termakes20GWhofwasteheat,whichisenoughtoheat1000homes.

GHG policy: AElisahasambitiousandclearCO2-policy.Thecompanyreduceditscarbonfootprintfrom87582tCO2(2010)by15232tCO2in2011.Companypro-videscomprehensiveenvironmentalresponsibilityreportannually.Datacenterusemadeemissionsof34000tCO2in2011.

Energy efficiencyElisaprovidesvideoconferencingservicesandremoteworkservicesbothin-houseandtoitscus-tomers.Companyestimatesthatitscloudservicesreduceenergyconsumptionby94%,comparedifallitscustomerswouldhavetheirownserversolutions.Thisreductionisequivalentof994tCO2reduction.

Elisadidn’tprovidedetaileddataofitsenergyeffi-ciencymeasuresinitsdatacenterswhenasked.

FicoloFicoloisanewactorinFinnishICTsector,providingcloudservices.Companywasestablishedanditsdatacenterwentonlinein2011,byformeremplo-yeesofTDC.Ficolo’sdatacenterislocatedinUlvila(nearPori).

Renewables & advocacy: ACurrentcapacityofthedatacenteris1MW(8760MWh/a).Maximumcapacityofdatacenterwillbe10-20MW.Datacenterutilizes100%windenergy,fromPorinEnergia,producedatMeri-PorinTuulipuisto.Companyinvestigatesinvestintoitsownbio-energyplant.Useofwindenergyisexcep-tionallyenvironmentallyfriendly;theelectricity

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utilitycanincreasewindturbinecapacityastheconsumptionofthedatacenterincreases.Ficolo’susageof100%windpowerisclearlymentionedinFicolowebsite,andcompanyusesgreenenergyuseascompetitiveadvantage.

Waste heat utilization: DFicolodoesnotcurrentlyutilizewasteheatfromdatacenter,andthereisnodefiniteplanstodoso.Utilizationofwasteheatispossibleinthearea,forexampleingreenhouses.

GHG Policy: C Ficolodoesnotpublishitsgreenhousegasreduc-tionpolicyinitswebsite.However,thecompa-nyhasonlyonedatacenter,whichisextremelyenergyefficient-moresothananyofitscom-petitorsinFinland.ThecompanyusesonlyGHGemissionfreeelectricity,sotheGHGimpactofthewholecompanyisverylow.

Energy efficiency: BDatacenterislocatedinsidearockcave.Thiscreatesconstanttemperatureof+7Caroundtheyear.Freecoolingisusedaroundtheyear.Differentinnovationsareinvestigatedforfuture,includingusingwasteheatatgreenhouses.Virtualization-andcoldandhotaislesareinuseinthedatacen-ter.PUEnumberofthedatacenteris1,2-1,3.

FujitsuFujitsuisaglobalITcompany,whichprovidesallsortsofhardwaresolutionsandhostingandcloudservicesaswell.Fujitsuhasimplementedenergyefficiencyandenvironmentalassessmentsinallits

operations,andcanbeconsideredaglobalfore-runnerinenvironmentalresponsibility.Fujitsucon-sidersthewholelifecycleofitsproducts,regardingallenvironmentalaspects,fromCO2andenergyusetorecyclingofusedhardwareandreductionoftoxicchemicaluse.

Renewables and advocacy: CFujitsuisamajoractorincloudcomputingsector.FujitsuhasthreedatacentersinFinland,withtotalconsumptionof13,5GWh.Fujitsuaimstopurcha-se1/3ofitselectricityfromrenewablesourcesby2015.CurrentlythecompanybuysitselectricityfromVantaanenergia,whichprovides23%ofitselectricityfromrenewablesources,whichisusualshareamongstFinnishelectricityutilities.

Waste heat utilization: BCurrentlyFujitsuutilizeswasteheatinsomeofitsdatacenters.Companyisplanningtoutilizewasteheatinallofitsdatacentersinfuture.

GHG Policy: AFujitsuhasclearandambitiousglobalGHGreduc-tionpolicyavailableonitswebsite.GHGemissionsareaccountedinallcompany’soperationsandemissionsarecontinuouslyreduced.

Energy efficiency: AFujitsuusesin-housedesignedserverhardwareinitsdatacenters,optimizedforenergyefficiency.Virtualizationoptimizeselectricityconsumption.Datacentersusefreecoolingunder+7C…-2C(thresholdtemperaturedependingondatacenter).PUEnumberoftheFinnishdatacentersare1,3-1,7.

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Herman ITHermanITisfinnishICTcompany,providingcloudservices.HermanIT’sdatacenterisunderconstructioninRenforsinRanta,Kajaani,byIBM.

HermanITisnottotallycomparabletoothercom-panies,asitsdatacenterisstillnotfinishedatthetimeofwritingthisreport.

Renewables & advocacyInitialpowerconsumptionis200kW,maximumpoweratfirstphaseis1,6MW(includinginfrastruc-ture).MaximumcapacityinHermanIT’scomplexinRenforsinRantapremisesisabout10MW.Renfor-sinRantahousesalsothedatacenterofCSC(whichisnotincludedinthesenumbers).ElectricityutilitywasstillundecidedatthetimeofGreenpeace’ssurvey.Thereforerenewableenergyuseandadvo-cacyisnotgradedhere.

Waste heat utilization: A WasteheatisutilizedinRenforsinRantaindustrialprocesses,andpossibilityofusingtheheatindistrictheatingnetworkisconsidered,incooperati-onwithKainuunEnergia.

Energy efficiency: ARenforsinRantadatacenterwillusemixedair/wa-tercooling.Freecoolingwillbeactivemostyear:goalisthatcoolingequipmentisactivelessthanthreemonthsayear.Coldaislesareinstalledintheserverhall,andthecoolingairflowisoptimizedwithspecialsoftwarebyIBM.PUEnumberofthedatacenterisaimedtobe1,1-1,2.

Innofactor InnofactorisaFinnishICTcompanythatprovidesMicrosoftproducts,includingMicrosoft’sAzurecloudcomputingservice.Innofactorsellssoftwaresolutionsforcarbontrading.

DespiteofrepeatedcontactattemptstoInnofac-tor,thecompanydidnotprovideGreenpeaceanyinformationofcompany’senergyefficiencyperfor-mance,andnoenvironmentalresponsibilityinfor-mationisavailableonInnofactor’swebsite.

TietoTietoisoneoftheEurope’slargestITcompanieswithoperationsincloseto30countries,employingmorethan18000people.CompanyisbasedinHelsinki.

TietodidnotprovidedetaileddatatoGreenpeaceregardingthisstudy,andthereforecompany’senvironmentalperformanceisnotgraded.Howe-ver,thereisextensiveamountofdataincompany’swebsite,regardingTieto’senvironmentalperfor-mance.

Waste heat utilizationTietoisaforerunnerindatacenterwasteheatuti-lization;company’sdatacenterinSwedenstartedtoutilizewasteheatin1978.Tieto’snewEspoodatacenterutilizeswasteheataswell.

GHG policyTietohasambitiousGHGreductionpolicy,andpro-videsinnovativetoolstoitscustomerstoreduceGHG emissions. Tieto reports its GHG emissions veryopenlytoCarbonDisclosureProject.Tieto’sbracheswithmorethan50employeesareISO14001andWWF’sGreenOffice-certified.Energyuseinoffices,datacentersandtravellingisreducedannually.

Energy efficiencyTieto’sEspoodatacenterwonGreenEnterpriseIT-awardin2011.Wiredmagazinerecognizedthedatacentertobeoneofmostenergyefficientintheworld.Tieto’sgoalistoreducedatacenterelectricityuseby8%annually.

TDCTDCisinternationalICTcompany,providingserverandcloudsolutions,aswellaswiredcommunica-tions.FormernetworkoperatorSongNetworksispartofTDCsince2004.

Renewables & Advocacy: BTDCoperatesonedatacenterinHelsinki,withannualconsumptionof4426MWh.TDCpurchasesitselectricity,heatingandcoolingfromHelsinginEnergia,whichproduces54%ofitsenergyfromrenewablesources,mostlyhydropower.54%isres-pectableshareamongstFinnishpowercompanies,but there are other ICT companies that purchase onlyrenewableelectricity.

Waste heat utilization: FTDCcurrentlydoesnotutilizewasteheatfromitsdatacenters,norintendstodosointhefuture.WatercoolingistechnologyisusedinTDC’sdatacenters,andfreecoolingappliesduringwintermonths.

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GHG Policy: ATDChasGHGreductionpolicy,whichaimstoreduceGHGemissionsby40%by2020,compa-redto2010levels.Foracompanyofthissize,thisreductionwouldberemarkable.

Energy efficiency: BColdaislesandliquidcoolingrackstoTDC’sHel-sinkidatacenter,howeverapparentlyhotaislesarenotinstalled.Freecoolingreducesenergyuseduringwintermonths.TDCprovidesvideoconfe-rencingandremoteworkingtoolstoitscustomers.

TeliaSoneraTeliaSoneraisinternationalICTcompany,whichprovidesmobileandwiredcommunications,andserverandcloudsolutions.Companyownsandoperatesacontry-widemobilenetwork.Thecom-pany’sICT-infrastructureisdistributedintosmallunitsaroundthecountry,ratherthanlargecon-centrated data centers.

Renewables & advocacy: AAnnualtotalelectricityconsumptionofwholecom-panyisbetween900-1000GWh.Districtheatingand–coolingareusedindatacenters.ElectricityproviderinFinlandisVattenfall,providing100%ekoenergia-certifiedhydropower.VattenfallislargeinternationalenergycompanywithmajorinvestmentsinadditionalREproduction.

Waste heat utilization: DTeliaSoneracurrentlydoesnotutilizewasteheatinitsdatacentersinFinlandandSweden.Howe-

ver,excessheatisappliedindistrictheatinginMoldova,butTeliaSonerahasnotfoundanenergycompanyinterestedofpurchasingwasteheatinFinland.

Energy efficiency: BEitherwatercoolingisused,applyinglake/seawa-ter,orfreeaircoolinginTeliaSonera’sdatacenters.Continuousimprovementsinenergyefficiencyaremade,whichhaveleadtomajorelectricitycon-sumptionsavingsincooling;inHaningen,Sweden,30%reductiontocoolingelectricityusehasbeenreachedbyefficientaircooling.Somedatacentersapplyfreecoolingintemperaturesbelow+5C.

3.2 Result summary: usual energy effi-ciency technologiesServer virtualizationVirtualizationissimulationofserverhardware,calledvirtualmachine.Virtualizationallowsoneservertoserveseveralclients,insteadofeachclienthavingtheirownserver.Datacentervirtu-alizationallowsconsolidatedworkloads,leadingtoraisedlevelsofutilizationandreducedoperational,capital,space,powerandcoolingexpenses.

Cold aislesColdaislescollectthecoolingair,usuallyfromun-derthedatacenterfloor,andconcentrateittothefrontoftheserverrows,fromwheretheserversutilizeit.Aislespreventmixingcoolingairwithambientairintheserverroom,loweringcoolingairtemperatureandimprovingefficiencyincooling.

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Hot aislesHotaislesconcentratehotoutputcoolingairfromtheserverstoaislesandleadsthehotairdirectlytoairoutlet,whichpreventstheoutputairtobemixedwithambientairintheserverroom.Thisfurtherimprovesefficiencyincooling.

Modeling of the cooling air flows Mostofthecompanieshaveoptimizedairflowintheserverroom,usingvirtualmodeling.Usingvirtualmodelingishighlyrecommended,asop-timalairflowcanbeachievedwithrelativelylowinvestmentcost(5000-15000€).Virtualmodelingrequirestemperaturemeasurementpoints,and3rdpartymodelingsoftware.

Free coolingFreecoolingismethodofcooling,whichutilizeslowambientairorwaterfromnearbynaturalwatersource(lakeorsea).Lowexternalaircoolsthewaterinthecoolingsystemwithouttheuseofachiller.FreecoolingsystemsinFinlandareacti-veformostoftheyear(usuallyaround9monthsperyear).FreecoolingisinuseindatacentersofFicolo,Fujitsu,HermanIT,TDCandTeliaSonera.FreecoolingisoneoftheadvantagesoflocatingdatacentersinFinland;lessenergyisneededforcoolingsolutions,savingenvironmentandmo-ney.Water-side(liquideconomizer)freecoolingispreferredinlocationswithseaorlakenearby.Air-side(aireconomizer)freecoolingispossibletoo;airqualityinFinlandisgoodorexcellentincities,requiringlessfiltering,howeverhighairmoistureduringautumnandspringperiodsmightcauseextraworktoCRACunits.Itshouldbenotedhowever,thatfreecoolingisnotcompletelyenergy

free;circulatingwaterbetweenserverroomandexternalcoldsourcerequiresenergy,andchillerisrequiredduringhotsummermonths.

Custom hardwareFujitsuusesserverhardwaredesignedbythecompany.HermanITusesserverhardwarebyIBM.Usingin-housedesignedhardwareallowshighlevelofoptimizationinenergyuse,repairs,andmodularity.

Remote work servicesRemoteworkallowstheworkerstoworkfromhome,orfromanotheroffice.Thisreducestimeandenergyoftraveling.

Video conferencingVideoconferencingallowsmeetingsinvirtualspaceratherthanallparticipantsphysicallyatten-dingthemeeting.Thissavestimeandenergyoftraveling.Savingscanbeverysignificantinmultina-tionalorganizations.

* * *

Allstudiedcompaniesusemostoftheseenergyefficiencytechnologies.Virtualizationisusedbyallcompanies.Remoteworkandvideoconferen-cingopportunitiesareofferedtocustomersbyallcompanies.Coldcorridorsareinstalledinalldatacenters.However,hotcorridorsarenotinstalledbyallcompanies.Also,itisnotclearifallcompanieshaveoptimizedairflowinsidetheserverroomusingcomputermodeling.Airflowoptimizationbringsgreatsavingsincoolingenergyatlowcost.

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Discussion 44.1 Renewable energy use in Finnish ICT sectorFourofthecompanies(Academica,Ficolo,Fujit-suandTeliaSonera)statedthattheyhavechosentheelectricityproviderbecauseoftheshareofrenewableenergyproduction.However,there-newableenergyproductionofFujitsu(VantaanEnergia,23%renewableproduction),isnothighatall,ifcomparedtoFinnishpowercompaniesingeneral.Threeofthecompanies(Academica,DnaandTDC)buyelectricityfromHelsinginEner-gia,whichhasquitehighrenewableenergyshare(54%).Ficolouses100%renewablewindpowerfromPorinEnergia.TeliaSonera’selectricityinFinlandis100%Ekoenergia-certifiedhydropower.However,itshouldbenotedthatalllarge-scalehydropowerpotentialinFinlandisalreadyinuse,andnonewhydropowerproductionispossible.Thus,buyinghydropowerelectricitymakesthecompany’scarbonfootprintsmaller,butdoesnotreducethecarbonfootprintofwholeFinnishenergysector–thereislesscleanelectricitytootherFinnishconsumers.TomaketheFinnishICTsectorcleaner,ICTcompaniesshouldactivelydemandenergycompaniestobuildnewrenewablecapacity(wind,small-scalehydroandbiomass)tomeetthegrowingneedsofICTsector,likeFicolohas done.

4.2 Does price of electricity promote energy savings?Energysavinginvestmentshaveshortpaybackpe-riod,insomecaseslessthansixmonths(likeinves-tingintoheat/coolcorridorsindatacenters).Mostinvestmentsarepaidcompletelyintwoyearsinformofreducedelectricityuse.However,electrici-tysavingsareoftennotconsideredwhenassessinganinvestment.Investing15000€forcoolcorridormightsoundexpensive,butitbringssavingsof40000€peryear.Sometimesthepersonwhomakes

thedecisionontheinvestmentisnotawareofthetotallifetimesavingsbroughtbytheinvestment.AndtheITbusinessisjusttooprofitabletolimittheenergyuse.

4.3 Energy savings in mobile networksRegardingmobilenetworks,havingthenetworkalwaysonat100%powerisverywastefulenergy-wise.TherearethreemobilenetworkprovidersinFinland,allmaintainingtheirownnetwork.Threenetworkscoveralmostallofcount-ry’slandarea.Networkisonandactive24/7.Ifthereisawaytoarrangetheserviceinaway,thatthenetworkis100%onwhencallordataconne-ctionisactive,majorsavingscanbeachievedinmobilenetworkssector.(Fettweis&Zimmermann,2008)

Itispossibletopowerthemobilenetworkwithdistributedrenewableenergy–solarandbatteries.Thismakesthenetworkmoreself-sufficientandreliable.Afterinitialinvestment,nopaymentsforelectricityisnecessary.Incaseoflargeelectrici-tynetworkfailure,whichmightoccurduestormdamage,whichmighttakeweekstorepair.Insuchcase,renewablepoweredmobilenetworkwouldstayactive.

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Recommendations 55.1 Recommendations for businessesEnergysavinginvestmentsalsosavemoney.Whenbudgetinganinvestment,theassessmentshouldbebasedonwholelifecycleoftheproduct.Energyefficiencyinvestmentsbringmajorsavingsinformofreducedelectricityuse.However,oftenin-vestmentassessmentsdonotincludesavingsfromelectricityuse.Thus,theefficiencyinvestmentsmightbeignored,adecisionbasedoninconclusiveinformation.

Sometimesthepremisesarerented,notownedbyICTcompany.Insuchcases,overheadcosts(heating,cooling)aresometimesfixedandinclu-dedintotherent.ThistakesawayanyincentivefromICTcompanytoinvestinanyequipmentthatwouldreducetheneedforfixedheating/cooling.Insuchcases,areductionofrentcouldbenegotiatedwithlandlord,asefficiencyinvestmentssavecostsofbothparties.

Infrastructurehasmuchlongerlifecyclethanser-versthemselves.Coolingsystemscanbeusedfor10yearsormore.Incaseofmalfunction,thewholesystemdoesnotneedtobereplacedcompletely,justthefaultypart.Thisshouldbeconsideredwhenmakinginvestments;energyefficientcoolingsolutionmightsavemuchmoreinlongrunthanenergyefficientserver.

Networkbandwidthshavebecomeveryfast,anditisquestionableifmorebandwidthmeansbetterservicetocustomeranymore.FullHDvideocanbestreamedwithbandwidthof4-8megabitsperse-cond.4Gnetworkisplannedtohavebandwidthof100mbit/sforhighmobilityuser(persontravellingwithcaroftrain)and1Gbit/sforwalkingorsta-tionaryuser.Forcommonuser,itishardtoimagineanyneedfor1Gbit/snetworkaccess.Infuture,insteadofofferingcustomersmorebandwidth,companiesshouldimprovequalityoftheirservicebyofferingmorediverseservices,betternetworkreception,etc.

5.2 Recommendations for policy makers and public sectorGovernmentcouldbemoresupportiveofbuildingdatacentersinFinland.FinlandandScandinaviaisverygoodoptionfordatacenterlocation:affor-dablerenewableelectricityisavailableinabundantquantities,coolclimatereducesneedforcooling,infrastructureisinexcellentcondition,andevenrealestatesareavailablethatcouldhouseserverfarms(e.g.oldpaperfactories).However,Finnishgovernmentgivesnosupportofstartingsuchbusi-nesses.IfmajorinternetcompaniesplantomovetoNordicregion,andisplanninganinvestmenttorenewableenergyandenergysavinginnovations,governmentcouldgiveataxreductiontocompa-ny’senergytax.Thisreductionshouldberelatedtoenergy-savinginvestmentsand/orrenewableenergyinvestments.Reductioncouldbelinkedtodatacenter’sPUE-number,forexample.

Currently,thecompaniesreceivenopublicincen-tiveforenergyefficientinvestments.Atemporaryincentivecouldbegiventocompaniesmakingsuchinvestments.Suchinvestmentshouldcorre-lategainedefficiency.Forexample,ifacompanyreducesPUEmeasurefrom2,0to1,5,acompanymightgetreducedelectricitytaxforperiodoftwoyears.

ApublicinstanceshouldcentralizeitsICTsystemsasmuchaspossible..Thereislittlepointofhavingparallelserversforhealthservices,education,police,firebrigade,etc.NowadaysalldifferentpublicICTprojectsareconsideredandimplement-edindividually.Theendresultmightbemanydifferentsystems,createdbydifferentcompanies,whichmightbeincompatiblewitheachother.Thisishighlyinefficient.

CompetitivebiddingofpublicICTprojectsisso-mewhatrestrictedprocess.Consultingcompany,whichgivesspecificationsofapublicproject,

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usuallydoesassessmentfirst,andreportoftheassessmentisgiventobiddingcompetition.Thespecificationmightbeincompatiblewithindividualbiddershardware.Forexample:Rittal’scoolinginf-rastructurecanoperatewithcoolingwaterat17C.Ifprojectisspecifiedtoneedcoolingwaterat10C,atbiddingphaseRittal’ssystemseemsfalselyineffi-cient.Thus,theassessmentphaseshouldbemoreopenandconsiderdifferenthardwareoptions.

Usingwasteheatfromdatacenterisefficientsolu-tion,whichreducesneedfordistrictheatingpower.UsingindustrialwasteheatisbeneficialforFinnishsocietyasawhole,asitishelpstomeetFinlandtomeetit’senergyefficiencygoalsaswellassa-vesenergyandmoneyinthelongrun.However,utilizingwasteheatmightrequireexpensiveinf-rastructureinvestmentsforlocalenergyprovider.Thus,notalllocalenergycompaniesareinterestedofpurchasinganddeliveringwasteheatfromICTcompanies.Insuchcase,governmentshouldactasanarbitrator,andpossiblygivesomeincentive(taxrelief,directinvestmentsupport,etc.)toanynecessaryinfrastructureproject.

5.3 Recommendations for energy companiesDatacentersmakeexcessheat,informofwaterbelow100C.InHelsinki,districtheatingnetworkuseswaterat100C.Thus,somecompaniesreport-edtroubleofsellingexcessheattolocalenergycompany.Makingexistingdistrictheatingnetworkdeliverheatatlowertemperaturewouldneedveryhighinvestment.However,whenbuildingdistrictheatingnetworktoanewarea(forexampleatÖstersundomandJätkäsaariatHelsinki,Suurpelto

atEspoo),itcouldbedesignedtouselowertempe-raturewater.DistrictheatingnetworksatSwedenusesgeothermalheat,whichis70C.Energycompa-niesshouldprepareforfuture;moredatacentersarewillbebuiltinfuture,meaningmorewasteheatavailable.Alsogeothermalheatingmightcometolarge-scaleheatsourceinFinland.Thisshouldbeconsideredwhenplanningnewdistrictheatinginfrastructure.

Ifwasteheatutilizationindistrictheatingisnotfeasible,itcouldalsobeutilizedinlowheatin-dustrialprocesses.Lowheatwater(11-17C)couldbeutilizedinmeltingofsnowinwintertimeincitiesforexample.

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References 6Fettweis,G.,Zimmermann,E.,2008.

ICTEnergyConsumption–TrendsAndChallenges.Dresden,Germany:TechnicalUnivesityofDresden/Vo-dafoneChairMobileCommunicationsSystems.[online]2008.

Availableat:https://mns.ifn.et.tu-dresden.de/Lists/nPublications/Attachments/559/Fettweis_G_WPMC_08.pdf

[Accessed25.8.2012.]

TheClimateGrouponbehalfoftheGlobaleSustainabilityInitiative(Gesi):SMART2020.2008.

Enablingthelowcarboneconomyintheinformationage[onlinedocument].

Availableat:http://www.smart2020.org/_assets/files/03_Smart2020Report_lo_res.pdf

[Accessed8.10.2012]