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Ed Ansett,I3解决团队的联合创始人和主席 由DCD中国授权DKV编译并发表于DeepKnowledge微信公众号。 从2000年左右开始，在新加坡地区，大量的外来投资建设了数据中心为新加坡成为数据中心重要区域铺平了道路，新加坡的商业数据中心行业蓬勃发展。 到了2019/20年，新加坡正面临重大挑战，将数据中心业务置于可持续发展和GDP增长讨论的核心。 为了在不阻碍数字经济增长的情况下，实现其气候变化承诺，i3解决方案集团提出了一些广泛的建议，以保障数据中心、数字经济和可持续性。 新加坡解决气候挑战问题在2016年，新加坡签署了巴黎气候协议。由于地理限制，新加坡国内97.6%的能源依赖进口。不到1%来自可再生能源(世界银行，2015年)。 新加坡本地的(电力)能源是使用进口燃料生产的，其中大部分来自低碳足迹的天然气。 在有限的国土面积和自然资源下，新加坡政府正努力履行其对《巴黎气候协定》及其可持续发展议程的承诺。这些措施，包括计划在2020年之后，部署1千兆瓦的太阳能发电能力。另外在腾格里水库建设一个50兆瓦(峰值)的浮动太阳能发电厂。该公司还在测试世界上最大的海上浮式太阳能试验台之一。 2019年1月，新加坡对排放企业征收每吨5美元的碳税，这个税固定到2023年。到2030年，每吨的成本预计将增加到10至15美元。新加坡国家能源局(National Energy Authority)表示:“任何每年排放相当于或超过2000吨二氧化碳当量(tCO2e)的直接温室气体(GHG)的工业设施，都必须进行注册并在线报告，每年提交一份排放报告。” 这些监管和跨部门的举措是非常受到欢迎的。但说到数据中心，需要对特定行业进行彻底的反思，以创建一个可持续的产业，继续吸引现代经济赖以生存的投资。 可持续发展行业 不可否认的是，数据中心行业是能源密集型行业，并排放CO2. 和很多已经签订了巴黎气候协定的城市类似，新加坡也面临着如何履行承诺的同时，运营一个高效、可持续的数据中心行业。 一些城市选择暂停建设新的数据中心，阿姆斯特丹最近宣布了这一举措。这是一个不能接受的解决办法。这些措施可能会吓走一些高效运营的开发商，将其转移到被认为对数据中心更为友好的附近地区，从而阻碍了经济增长。 对于新加坡这样的国家来说，解决方案必须是长期和高效的。由于土地容量稀少，能源部门需要依赖燃料进口，因此需要采取多层次的方法来解决新数据中心开发的能源需求和低效的基础设施。 对于新的发展机会，用来抵消数据中心的碳足迹。从新加坡电网获得电力新开发的任何项目，都将通过当地供应商在全球环境项目上的投资，来抵消其能源使用，以平衡新加坡数据中心的碳足迹。 通过可再生能源来抵消碳排放 这将意味着，新加坡以外的二氧化碳减排项目可以抵消当地的二氧化碳使用量。 从PCA的角度来看，政府间气候谈判显然是全球性的、复杂的。任何拟议的改变都将取决于目前正在进行的谈判，而谈判将在每年年中举行一次。 在2019年，国际能源机构(IEA) PCA年中会议后，最近报告称:“通过同意《巴黎协定》第6条，为各国碳市场的新型国际交易开辟了道路……第6.2条规定了自愿合作方式的原则。一个国家可以将所谓的“国际减排成果”(ITMOs)转让给另一个国家，后者可以将这些成果用于实现其国家自主贡献(NDC)目标。这些转让必须采用健全和透明的会计规则，以避免ITMOs的重复计算，并确保环境的完整性。转让可以通过各种方法和机制进行，例如国家间的双边合作方案，或国家或区域排放贸易计划。” 清理或关闭 那么现有的数据中心怎么办呢？在新加坡，一些传统数据早于可持续发展标准SS:564和绿色环境标准。而且，由于种种原因，很多数据中心永远也达不到其设计的效率。答案当然是监管，以确保发现并落实其低效率，然后进行改进。最令人遗憾的，通常通知关闭较旧的数据中心的基础设施。 可以要求现有的数据中心运营商以更大的利用率、更高的效率、降低碳排放和现代化的改进陈旧的基础设施为重点来改变他们的运营。这可以通过激励和监管的结合来实现。
解决方案，不是问题解决可持续性和满足业务需求的问题并非新加坡独有，世界各地的城市都在讨论这些问题。 应对气候危机是大方向。这意味着投资可再生能源，抵消碳排放，创造有利于气候的财税环境。如果要让这些重要的设施成为减少碳排放的解决方案的一部分，就必须要求高效的数据中心运营。 政府、企业和公民要从数字业务中受益，就需要对数据中心的规划和运营进行彻底的反思。数据中心不能成为气候变化问题的一部分，而必须发展并成为解决方案的一部分。 英文原文 How Singapore can make data centers part of its sustainability solutionEd Ansett,Co-Founder and Chairman, i3 Solutions Group Beginning around 2000, big inward investments paved the way for Singapore to become the dominant regional data center hub with a thriving commercial data center sector. Fast forward to 2019/20 and Singapore is facing significant challenges placing data center operations at the heart of the discussion around sustainability and GDP growth. For Singapore to meet its climate change commitments without putting the brake on digital economic growth, i3 Solutions Group has some wide-ranging suggestions to align data centers, the digital economy and sustainability. Singapore tackling climate changeSingapore ratified the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. Due to geographical constraints, it imports 97.6 percent of its energy. Less than 1 percent comes from renewables (World Bank 2015). Singapore’s (electrical) energy is generated locally using imported fuels with much coming from low carbon producing natural gas. With limited space and few energy resources the Singapore Government is working hard on its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and its sustainability agenda. Efforts include plans for 1GW solar deployment after 2020 including a floating solar farm of 50MW (peak) at the Tengeh Reservoir. It is also testing one of the world’s largest sea-based offshore floating solar test beds. January 2019 saw Singapore introduce a carbon tax of $5 per tonne for emitters. This tax is fixed until 2023. By 2030 the cost per tonne is anticipated to increase to between $10 and $15. Singapore’s National Energy Authority says: 'Any industrial facility that emits direct greenhouse gas (GHG) equal to or above 2,000 tCO2e annually will be required to be registered as a reportable facility and to submit an Emissions Report annually.' These regulatory and cross-sector moves are welcome. But when it comes to data centers, sector specific radical rethinking is needed to create a sustainable industry that continues to attract investment upon which modern economies depend. A sustainable sectorThere is no escaping the fact that data center operations are energy-intensive and emit CO2. The question for Singapore, and most metros around the world that have signed the Paris Climate Agreement, is how to meet their commitments while running a productive and sustainable data center sector. Some cities have opted for a moratorium on building new data centers. Such a move was recently announced by Amsterdam. This is an untenable solution. Such moves will likely scare away developers of efficient facilities to nearby locations considered more data center friendly, and in doing so hamper economic growth. For countries such as Singapore the solutions need to be long term and highly effective. With scarce land capacity and an energy sector that consequently relies on fuel imports a multi-layered approach is needed to both address the energy needs of new data center developments and the inefficient legacy facilities. For new developments a clear opportunity lies in offsetting the carbon footprint of the data center. Any new development drawing power from Singapore’s grid would have its energy use offset through investments by the local provider in environmental projects around the world to balance out their Singapore data center carbon footprint. Carbon offsetting through renewablesThis would mean that CO2 reduction projects outside Singapore could offset local CO2 usage. In PCA terms it is clear that intergovernmental climate negotiations are global and complex. Any proposed changes are subject to ongoing talks which happen mid-year and annually. As reported recently by the International Energy Authority (IEA) following the 2019 PCA mid-year meeting: “By agreeing to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, countries opened the way for a new form of international interaction on carbon markets…Article 6.2 sets out the principles for voluntary co-operative approaches. One country can transfer so-called “internationally transferred mitigation outcomes” (ITMOs) to another country, which can then use them towards its NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) target. These transfers must apply robust and transparent accounting rules to avoid double counting of ITMOs and to ensure environmental integrity. The transfers can take place using various approaches and mechanisms, such as bilateral cooperation programmes between countries, or national or regional emission trading schemes (ETS).” Clean up or shut downAnd what about the existing data centers? Some legacy data centers pre-date Singapore’s data center sustainability standard SS:564 and the Greenmark system. And, many will never achieve their design efficiency for various reasons. The answer surely is regulation to ensure inefficiencies are identified and reported and then improvements made, and the most offending, typically older facilities put on notice to be shut down. It could be mandated that existing data center operators change their operations with a focus on greater utilisation, higher efficiency, offsetting carbon emissions and modernisation of old facilities. This can be achieved using a mixture of incentives and regulation.
The solution, not the problemThe problems of addressing sustainability and meeting demand are not unique to Singapore. They are being discussed in cities across the world. The big picture is addressing the climate crisis. This means investing in renewables, offsetting carbon emissions and creating climate friendly tax environments. Efficient data center operations will have to be mandated if these vital facilities are to become part of the answer to cutting carbon emissions. For governments, businesses and citizens to benefit from the digital revolution, data center planning and operation needs radical rethinking. Data centers cannot be part of the climate change problem, but rather must evolve and become part of the solution. 公众号声明： |
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