Winds of change: industry leaders are driving the development of renewable energy sources

Renewable energy is an ever-growing area of ​​energy production that is seeing more investment and support as a clean alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based energy sources. This has been further reinforced by equally pressing concerns about environmental sustainability and the long-term effects of greenhouse gas emissions, as wind power provides a viable solution to meeting energy demand while mitigating environmental damage.

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that the amount of electricity generated by wind increased by 265 TWh in 2022, an increase of 14%, which is also the second largest increase among all energy generation technologies. This is confirmed by the long-standing position of wind energy as a leading technology not related to hydro-renewable energy sources, which will generate over 2,100 TWh in 2022 – more than all other forms combined.

The benefits of wind power are being recognized across many industries, including the energy and data center space, due to the need to address climate change and achieve sustainable development goals.

Winds of change

As a leading data center company, VIRTUS takes sustainability seriously, ensuring digital growth and development by delivering modern, scalable, AI-enabled data centers, all with the environment in mind. As the first supplier to commit to 100% zero-carbon energy since 2012 and powering its facilities only with truly renewable energy from wind, solar and tidal sources, VIRTUS saves approximately 45 million tons of CO2 per year, enough to filling Wembley Stadium five times.

The Wustermark data center campus, currently under construction and scheduled to be operational by 2026, is a testament to VIRTUS’s commitment to renewable energy, particularly wind, to harness green energy in close proximity to the facility. It is surrounded by wind farms that feed directly into a substation adjacent to the campus, making full use of wind power – of which there is an abundance throughout the region – and challenging the company to explore storage options to ensure a steady supply of renewable energy.

“The facility is being designed to be ready for artificial intelligence. This means managing sustainable energy at scale, supporting fast and scalable implementations and taking operational needs into account,” explains VITRUS Germany Managing Director Michael Dada. “Construction will include liquid cooling and immersion cooling capabilities built into the building structure and a floor strong enough to accommodate new, pre-populated AI/Machine Learning (ML)-driven racks that are significantly heavier than those currently in use. All this must be achieved by consciously guided by values ​​that benefit the data center provider, the customer and broader societal responsibilities.

“Wind energy is just one of many renewable energy sources we use to power our data centers.”

Challenges visible throughout the wind energy sector

This view is shared by Cerianne Cummings, Kent Offshore Wind Market Director. Having worked in the maritime space for over a decade, Cerianne has had a front-row seat to the sector’s exponential growth. For example, he acknowledges that the UK government’s commitment to achieving 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, combined with advances in floating technology, spells a promising future. However, challenges remain and create opportunities for innovations such as green hydrogen and battery energy storage.

“The initial uncertainty around lease auctions and contract for difference rounds made the business case for supply chain investments difficult to make,” she says, remaining optimistic about the trajectory of offshore wind. “Most regular leasing rounds recently, combined with the government’s commitment to conduct allocation rounds approximately every two years, have made the offshore wind industry a more attractive place to do business.”

Kent is designing approximately 12 GW of offshore wind off the UK coast and is providing early engineering support to projects in the Australian market, where there is a long history of offshore oil and gas. Here, Kent has decades of experience supporting the industry and tackling its challenges.

He adds: “Australia is remote from the existing offshore wind supply chain and generally has a limited supply chain that can deliver large offshore wind projects. We are leveraging our existing operations to support oil and gas decommissioning and ongoing collaboration with ports.” With this work, Australia is ready for the large-scale construction work that the regional offshore wind market will need to meet its significant wind energy aspirations.

Balancing demand and environmental responsibility

As the wind industry continues to grow, Cerianne anticipates significant demand for Kent’s services in this area. This comes as the global offshore wind market braces for a significant supply chain performance challenge as governments around the world announce increased offshore wind targets.

“We are extremely aware that developing good people in our industry is critical to achieving global offshore wind aspirations,” he begins. “The real challenge we face is exponential growth, which can only be achieved by implementing greater automation and developing ‘smart’ delivery tools. We are on an ongoing digitalization and innovation agenda – using our experienced and bright minds, we are constantly refining and improving our tools, combining decades of practical experience with lessons learned from our ongoing projects.

Aggreko has also played a supporting role in the wind energy sector, a collaboration spanning over 60 years. However, this is changing due to the pace and need for innovation.

Ilyeass El Khattouti is Aggreko’s European Utilities Sector Leader. He says: “The sector is currently facing a Catch-22 situation, requiring on the one hand enormous ambition, significant financial resources and decisive support for its rapid growth, and on the other a myriad of planning, production, environmental and supply chain challenges. Billions of pounds worth of green energy projects are on hold due to grid connection constraints, which clearly could have a detrimental impact on Europe’s climate targets. However, there are solutions that can accelerate the scalability and sustainability of offshore wind farms, and we are investing in them.”

He hastens to add that while hiring for short-term solutions is not a new concept, the use of short-term power and temperature control solutions is largely underutilized.

As the wind industry continues to evolve, sustainable innovation continues to be at the heart of this movement. The commitment to carbon neutral operations and significant offshore wind projects exemplify the sector’s transition to cleaner energy sources, despite the challenges it faces. Still, innovative solutions and concerted efforts promise a greener future. As Ilyeass emphasizes, strategic investments in scalable and sustainable solutions are essential to overcome obstacles and accelerate the development of wind projects. It is safe to say that the wind of change is blowing strongly and the industry is prepared for further development and impact on the environment.

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