The Downpour of a Digital Future

We might be in the age of the digital cloud — however celestial or ethereal it may appear to be — but it is in fact not only incontrovertibly material, but also a powerful ecological force. In present times, data centres are mammoth powerhouses of modern information, communication and technology industries with giant servers that store and process data. While their proliferation is in a sense, a consequence of our own consumption patterns, and as the global demand for the digital grows, so does the data centre footprint.

As nations worldwide race to achieve data sovereignty, environmentalists and climate activists lament the destruction of land by the sheer magnitude of desolation that the data centre engenders. What is evident is that these centres, as much as they stand tall as factory-like libraries, are integral laboratories for exploring what a sustainable digital future could take shape as. However, the question still remains: can such a future truly be realised? 

Today, there are a reported 5,375 data centres in the United States, while Germany and the United Kingdom follow suit with 522 and 517 respectively. The rapid expansion of India’s data centre industry, driven by initiatives such as the broadband policy and the introduction of JIO and Unified Payment Interface (UPI), coupled with a user base exceeding 600 million smartphone users consuming an average of 26 GB per month, forecasts significant growth. India’s 152 data centres are concentrated in cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Estimates indicate that the market could reach $5 billion, with installed data centre capacity projected to escalate from 800 MW in 2022 to 1700 MW by 2025. Acknowledging this surge, the Government of India unveiled a preliminary ‘National Draft Data Center Policy’ in 2020. Various states have also implemented or planned data centre policies, forging partnerships with private entities for facility development. Yet, these policies overlook a critical concern; their environmental impact. 

At this juncture, the challenge lies not so much in designing for sustainability but in accommodating the unthinkable scale at which such infrastructure is needed and the repercussions of its abundant byproducts. This begs the question, are corporations hiding behind the mask of going green, marching forward with their data cantonments? What comes after the green building? Let’s break it down. 

Carbon and the Cloud 

Heat is the waste product of computation, necessitating extensive use of power-guzzling air conditioning systems like computer room air conditioners (CRACs) or handlers (CRAHs) to mitigate thermal impact. In order to make cloud services accessible around the clock, facilities are designed to be hyper-redundant (if one system fails, another is ready to take its place), to prevent a disruption in user experience, further adding to energy consumption. In present times, annual energy usage in data centres reaches 200 terawatt hours (TWh), surpassing that of certain countries, reflecting their substantial environmental footprint. 

While major “hyperscale” data centres operated by companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon are committed to achieving carbon neutrality through carbon offsetting and investment in renewable energy such as wind and solar power, smaller-scale data centres often lack the financial means and stability to pursue similar sustainability measures and manage fluctuating capacity requirements. 

Looking within the subcontinent, the state of affairs is bleak – with the draft National Data Center Policy encouraging the use of renewable energy but lacking in enforcement when it comes to specifying a mandate or threshold use of green energy. 

An Era of Drought 

Water, a better connective agent than air for cooling, has encouraged the move to water instead of air for cooling in order to cut carbon emissions – yet it has significant drawbacks. In Bluffdale, Utah, local residents face water shortages and power disruptions due to the Utah Data Center, which consumes seven million gallons of water daily. India, home to 17% of the global population, possesses only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources. The country is grappling with water scarcity with nearly 21 major hubs including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Chennai dealing with severe water crises. The issue here is two-fold. First, neither the draft National Data Centre Policy nor any of the extant state policies address these water demands. Second, due the unfathomable magnitude of such water consumption, statistics regarding data centre water usage or its impact on the water table and communities has been left out of the picture 

In response to increasing awareness of glaring impacts on water-stressed communities, companies like Google among others, are pledging to go “water-positive” by 2030 – by optimising water utilisation and minimising waste through recycling, as well as investing in water infrastructure for a water secure future. However, the story is the same here; while corporate pledges such as these provide hope for a green future, they are not enforceable, nor do they appear to be feasible given the explosive growth of the cloud. 

A Millennia of Decay 

The rapid turnover of computing and electrical components due to continuous technological advancements has resulted in a substantial increase in electronic waste. Cloud servers, with an average lifespan of only three years, require frequent disposal of outdated hardware. These disposal patterns further exacerbate the monumental increase in waste and have a hazardous impact on natural landscapes. Adding to this are security concerns with some companies demanding the destruction of server equipment to prevent the breach of sensitive data and information, negating the possibility of reusing components. 

In vast manufacturing facilities located in the Global South, distinctive of low labour costs and minimal legal protections, smartphones are manufactured and distributed globally. Often discarded after mere months of use, their afterlife destined to electronic waste sites, rife with toxic metals and radioactive elements which take over a millenia to decay. 

Power and the Planet 

The ecosystem of computational dynamics today has not entirely been shaped by the limits of design and technology, but rather by the stark inefficiencies of systematic thought and leadership that herald global interactions. As individuals, communities, corporations and governments, we need to march forward toward creative pursuit through the lens of both efficiency and sufficiency. This requires a shift in our infrastructural configuration. Can we we-rethink and re-trace our steps to design for circular patterns of consumptions that tactfully address security concerns? Initiatives in Europe are paving the way for efficiency in equipment design that can prolong the lifespan of servers as well as ease the process of repair and recycle using “material passports” – that are able to document unit histories much like timestamps. Such efforts most definitely help us break mutable boundaries of what the cloud can materialise as and push us to herald in an ecologically sensitive and conscious digital age.