Policy Update from Intellect Data

Centres Programme

James Harbidge, Programme Manager, Intellect

The political landscape for data centres... and why you should care!

Content

- Who are Intellect?

- Intellect’s Data Centres Programme

- The ‘Green Agenda’ for data centres

– Industry progress

– Political barriers

– Where are we now?

- The wider battle to be won

– Data Centres underpinning the UK economy – now and in future

– A confusing policy landscape

- Why does this matter?

- What to take away to the commercial world

Who are we?

Good for UK Technology Good for UK Plc Good for the UK

Who are we? M

arkets H

orizo

ntal

issues

Solu

tion

s

Consumer Groups

Analysts & Agencies

Europe

Other Networks

Media

Government

& Regulators

Representing the industry to...

Commercially neutral

Member led

Represents a cross-section of the industry: - Colocation operators

- Enterprise operators

- Managed services

- Networking

- Broader IT services

- Consulting

- Legal services - Real estate

Intellect Data Centres Programme

Industry Representation

Driving Professionalism

Thought leadership

Cross-sector Networking

Intellect

Good industry progress

• Intellect endorsed the EU Code of Conduct as the first practical set of guidelines to improve energy efficiency within the data centre industry – and this remains the case.

• Increasing sharing of best practice - we have been very pleased to see the Green Grid Maturity Model and broad take-up of PUE (if understood correctly).

The ‘Green’ agenda...

These have been industry led - they must be complemented by

policy direction suitable for the data centre sector.

This requires an understanding of data

centres as the backbone of the UK economy which will

underpin the move to a low carbon economy.

However...

Data Centres underpin all the technologies that enable a low carbon economy, such as smart grid, intelligent transport systems, smart buildings and smart cities.

Why is this important?

The growth in data centres is due to the global demand for data.

A growing industry with enormous potential

The growth in the UK sector has mirrored the growth in demand for data, with operators reporting over 15% growth per annum

Energy Technologies List

UKTI

Treasury

Policy uncertainty

Policy unsuitability

Risk for the UK

A taste of the policy landscape...

Carbon Reduction Commitment

Climate Change Levy

Climate Change Agreements

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

EII Compensation

Dept for Energy & Climate Change

DEFRA

Dept for Business Innovation & Skills

Green Economy Council

The wider image of the sector...

‘Power, Pollution and the Internet’

‘Most data centres, by design, consume vast

amounts of energy in an incongruously wasteful

manner’

‘fantasy sports and photo sharing’

Intellect’s role/Where are we now?

Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)

• Long-time concern for data centre operators • Over 2 years of emphasising its failings led by Intellect • Chancellor announced in March 2012 Budget that CRC would be reformed or scrapped this Autumn

• Now we wait – look out for the Autumn Statement on 5 December

Climate Change Agreement (CCA)

• Intellect is in dialogue with DECC to negotiate a CCA if possible • We are gathering energy data from as many operators as possible • Not just better than CRC but an appropriate policy tool going forwards.

The wrong policy environment puts the UKs traditionally leading position at risk and hampers the transition to a low carbon economy.

The UK can be at the forefront of green data centre development – and should be

Why does this all matter?

DCD research suggests that $35 billion will be invested in data centres around the world over the next 12 months alone, of

which, 25% will be in Europe.

The construction phase, a single data centre represents around

£100M of inward investment just for the build

• Data Centres underpin the digital agenda in the UK and are at

the heart of the low carbon economy

• The industry has taken steps to encourage efficiency and best

practice

• This must be complemented by a policy environment

appropriate to a major industry

• The industry, and the need for it, is only growing – so data

centres need to be in the policy landscape

If done, the potential for the UK data centres industry,

environmentally and commercially, is enormous.

In summary...

For questions and further information on Intellect and its work, please contact: James Harbidge, Programme Manager James.Harbidge@intellectuk.org 020 7331 2173

Further information