World Wide Waste with Gerry McGovern

Gauthier Roussilhe 'The hidden costs of data centers'

Jul 21, 2022

Exploring the environmental impact of data centers, Gauthier Roussilhe discusses the challenges of reducing energy consumption in countries like France. The conversation delves into the hidden costs beyond electricity usage and the sustainability challenges faced by data centers worldwide. Additionally, the podcast touches on the financial landscape of data centers and the complex relationship between data transfer and energy consumption in the ICT sector.

50:38

Episode guests

Gauthier Roussilhe

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Data centers' electricity impact needs country-level analysis, not global figures.

Balancing renewable energy use between data centers and other sectors is crucial for energy transition goals.

Deep dives

Data Center Electricity Consumption Estimates and Worldwide Impact

There are various estimates of electricity consumption for data centers globally, ranging from 200 to 400 terawatt-hours. Analysis by different institutes such as the IEA and the Bordeostem Institute in Germany provide these ranges. Understanding the electricity consumption is challenging due to different methodologies and the lack of transparency in data from various countries like China. The development of data centers worldwide impacts electricity grids, requiring a more localized perspective for effective policy implementation.

Introduction

4min

The Environmental Impact of Data Centers

11min

Exploring the Shorter Lifespan of Electromechanical Hardware in Data Centers

2min

Challenges of Data Center Sustainability

14min

Exploring the Growth and Financial Landscape of Data Centers

3min

Data Transfer and Energy Consumption in ICT Sector

17min

Gauthier Roussilhe has specialized in the environmental footprint of the digital sector for 5 years, and is certainly among the most knowledable people I have been lucky to chat with about these issues. He is currently doing a PhD at the RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) to explore which digital infrastructures and services are compatible with a world stabilized at +2°C. I started our chat by asking Gauthier about the electricity impact of data centers.

Global figures are not reliable. We need to look at a country-level basis.

“I don’t know what it’s like in Ireland but in France between now and 2050, we have to reduce our final energy consumption by 40%. That’s the framing we have to have in mind when we are analyzing such sectors. You can have all the data centers in Ireland absorbing all the renewable energy capacity that is being put on the grid. So, data centers might have very nice environmental reports, lowering the carbon intensity of the electricity mix but now allowing other actors to get this renewable energy, so it becomes a zero-sum game.”