Data centres: Balancing AI needs with sustainability

New Delhi: In 2016, Facebook flipped the switch at its Luleå data centre facility on the edge of the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, utilising freezing cold arctic air and hydroelectric plants as renewable power sources. Microsoft’s Project Natick shifted data centres underwater, but after nine years of trying 117 feet below the North Sea, the company shut down that experiment last summer.

IBM summarised the conundrum: “Organisations have long grappled with energy consumption challenges that accompany traditional data centres, which can lead to increased operational costs and a notable environmental impact.”