CyrusOne European data centres powered with 100% renewable energy

Data centre owner/operator CyrusOne announced that all European data centres are now running on 100% renewable energy.

This milestone is an achievement that represents the company’s commitment to providing environmentally sound, functional data centre solutions.

Steve Hayward, Senior Director, European Operations at CyrusOne said in the announcement, “We’re extremely proud of this milestone in Europe and pleased to be taking another step towards a greener future.” He noted that the company as a whole was “embracing (its) responsibility to reduce (its) environmental impact.”

Data centres have long been the subject of scrutiny due to their power usage, carbon footprint, and overall negative effect on the environment. According to one study, data centres account for 3% of the world’s total energy consumption – using more power per year than the entire UK. They are also responsible for 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, as well as contributing significantly to ‘e-waste’, the solid and hazardous waste created when data centre hardware such as servers, storage, and networking equipment is disposed of without recycling.

In response, there has been an increased focus across the data centre industry on sustainability and the reduction of environmental impact. CyrusOne, a founding member of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, reached its European renewable energy goal almost a decade ahead of the 2030 target outlined in the Pact.

The Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact has been signed by a number of leading data centre operators and associations, including Google, Equinix, and NTT. The Pact’s ultimate goal is to make European operations climate-neutral by 2050.

“Our progress in sustainability continues to be supported and driven by customers, who have come to expect high-grade, quality local power,” Hayward said. And that sustainability will be a focus of new builds and new markets. “As we evaluate new markets, the availability of renewable power will be central to our decision making.”

Renewables are only one part of the sustainability efforts of CyrusOne. The company recently made a pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2040 worldwide, while the European market is on track to be carbon-neutral by 2030.