Citi bank will be cutting its London data centre energy usage by 10% in a first of its kind initiative in the UK.
Based in Lewisham, London, a Combined Cooling and Power (CCP) system will be installed in the data centre together with energy efficient cooling units and efficiency improvements to the building’s air conditioning system.
The CCP system will generate 71% of the electricity needed to power the data centre. It will also provide cooling for the servers housed in the data centre. Citi currently uses mains electricity from the national grid and relies on back-up diesel generators for this purpose.
The data centre, built by GE Jenbacher, will be fully upgraded by Q4 2015, with the total investment reaching £5.2 million. Clarke Energy will be overseeing the upgrades.
CEO of Clarke Energy, James Clarke, said: ""This will be the first facility that Clarke Energy and GE have delivered in the UK at a data centre. Citi’s CCP facility will demonstrate the potential for energy, carbon and cost savings that can be delivered from high efficiency technology."
The project is backed by the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), and chief executive Shaun Kingsbury said: "The IT industry is one of the most energy intensive sectors globally, second only to aviation. Energy can represent up to 80% of the cost of running a data centre, so they provide an important opportunity for energy efficiency measures.
"I am pleased that we have been able to support the first energy efficiency project at a UK data centre and hope that this is the first of many such projects.
"This project makes financial sense, reducing Citi’s energy costs, and makes environmental sense, reducing the data centre’s greenhouse gas emissions. And because of the innovative investment model, it will involve no upfront capital expenditure for Citi as the cost of the project will be paid for out of the energy cost savings achieved."
