China's green data center development:Policies and carbon reduction technology path

Environ Res. 2023 Aug 15;231(Pt 3):116248. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116248. Epub 2023 May 26.

Abstract

Data center is a very important infrastructure to support the development of information technology, and its development and increment are very remarkable. However, with the rapid and large-scale development of data centers, the problem of energy consumption turns to be also very prominent. Under the background of global carbon peak and carbon neutrality, developing green and low-carbon data centers has become an inevitable trend. This paper reviews and analyzes the policies and their roles in promoting China's green development of data centers in the past 10 years, summarizes the current situation of the implementation of green data center projects in China and gives the changes of PUE limits of data centers under the policy constraints. Application of green technologies is an important measure for energy-saving and low-carbon development of data centers, so encouraging innovation and application of green technologies in data center is also a priority task in relevant policies. This paper points out the green and low-carbon technology system of data centers, further summarizes energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies in IT equipment, cooling system, power supply and distribution system, lighting, intelligent operation and maintenance, and provides an outlook on the future green development of data centers.

Keywords: Data center; Energy saving; Green data center; Green development; Low carbon.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbon*
  • China
  • Economic Development
  • Electric Power Supplies
  • Policy
  • Technology*

Substances

  • Carbon