Establishing data centres on well-connected industrial sites promotes modern, sustainable and socially acceptable neighbourhood developments, says Daniel Schmitz from GOLDBECK SĂĽdwest GmbH in an interview. He will be speaking on 4 June at the Data Center Expert Summit about the opportunities and challenges of greenfield brownfield developments within and outside of metropolitan regions.
Mr Schmitz, how do you currently assess the market for brownfield developments in the DC industry – also considering sustainablity?
By revitalising brownfield sites that have been developed but are no longer in use, the DC industry is making a significant contribution to upgrading urban areas. Properties with contaminated sites from the industrial age are being redeveloped and made available for new uses, taking ecological aspects into account. Modern, sustainable and socially acceptable neighbourhood developments can take place around the data centre, which can be heated efficiently by using waste heat from the data centre, for example. In addition, requirements from the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) are already contributing to a significant increase in “retrofit” projects. In these construction measures, the energy efficiency of existing data centres is improved through optimisation.
Which brownfield projects are particularly suitable for the development of data centre projects? What criteria play a special role here?
Well-developed brownfield sites are particularly suitable for the development of DC projects on brownfield sites. An infrastructure with a sufficient energy supply and a good fibre optic connection are basic prerequisites for the location of a data centre. The possibility of connecting to an existing local or district heating network to supply other buildings with waste heat from the data centre would be an advantage. Obviously, the environmental risks of the planned location also play a role for a high-availability data centre.
How do you generally assess the growth of the DC industry in the coming years? Are there any recognisable trends in terms of floor space, geographical location or other requirements?
Due to the various technological, geopolitical and labour market-specific developments (keywords: Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, digitalisation), DC projects are expected to continue to grow steadily in the coming years. This applies both to new builds and to the revitalisation of existing data centres. Optimising energy efficiency in terms of sustainability and increasing power density (kW/m²) play a central role here due to scarce land resources.
Mr Schmitz, thank you very much for the interview!
On 4 June, as part of the Data Center Expert Summit in Offenbach, Daniel Schmitz will be taking part in the panel discussion on Greenfield & Brownfield at 10:45 am. Register now!
