Home
GREEN DATA CENTRES - WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO THEY PRESENT TO THE RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY? - 21 May 2009
A Highlands and Islands Enterprise workshop
09.00-10.30
This workshop is aimed at renewable energy developers looking at alternative routes to market for their energy. The current explosion in data and computing power, allied to major changes in the management of data networks, provides opportunities for new types of data centres based outwith urban centres. However one of the key obstacles to the development of new data storage capacity is the availability of cheap, scaleable and reliable power.
Data centres house thousands of processors, hard drives and generate significant amounts of heat. Rural data centres, linked to locally available renewable power supplies are increasingly common in North America. In Europe, cooler climates, like those found in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, make ideal locations for these centres. As with all businesses these days, the operators of data centres are looking for the most cost effective and environmentally friendly methods of running their facilities.
Chair: Calum Davidson, Head of Key Sectors at Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Chair: Calum Davidson, Head of Key Sectors at Highlands and Islands Enterprise
| 9.00 | Introduction by Chair |
| 9.05 | Introduction Calum Davidson, Head of Key Sectors at Highlands and Islands Enterprise [ presentation ] |
| 9.25 | The data centre opportunity: how to exploit it Steve Wallage, Managing Director, Broadgroup Consulting Ltd [ presentation ] |
| 10.00 | Q&A and discussion |
| 10.30 | Exhibition and networking |
