The data center market in Europe has been looking for ways to make data center operations more sustainable for a long time. On the one hand, of course, with a view to the increasingly present effects of global CO2 emissions and, on the other hand, with a view to the current sharp rise in energy costs.
Therefore, every year different concepts, ideas and prototypes are presented. From waste heat utilization for heating adjacent apartments, urban farming, to algae cultivation for CO2 reduction, many innovative concepts are in circulation. How realistic and helpful these ideas are has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but it is positive that people are thinking in these directions.
Some time ago, aixit came across an idea that really excited and convinced us from the very first moment: The construction of sustainable data centers in wind power plants and wind farms.
With this motto, the company WestfalenWIND IT has been active with its windCORES idea since 2018. The company launched a data center prototype in its own wind turbine and immediately won the German Data Center Award.
The idea is quite simple and easy to explain: The infrastructure inside the wind turbine is used and modified as a data center area. The sustainable highlight is that most of the energy (92%) is generated directly in the respective wind turbine and consumed directly on the surface inside by the IT systems. This means that the electricity used is the greenest green electricity you could wish for, as no further electrical infrastructure, such as additional power lines, is required. So what is really already there is used.
"The concept is actually simple, and that's what makes it so ingenious. We simply use what's there: the existing wind towers, the infrastructure they contain and, of course, the wind power produced on site.
A more sustainable solution for climate-neutral IT would be hard to find on the market. This convinces many who are seriously concerned with the topic of Green IT"
Dr. Fiete Dubberke, CEO WestfalenWIND IT
windCORES & aixit
Due to the enthusiasm for this idea, there has been a common interest in using synergies and working together for some time. Initially with an exchange of experience from 25 years of data center business, aixit has been able to support the redundant 400Gbit/s lines in the direction of Frankfurt since 2020. And thus ensure that the data centers in the wind farm near Paderborn not only operate sustainably, but can also offer the data transfer of customers with appropriate bandwidth towards the Internet node Frankfurt.
The first completely joint project was a new data center concept based on the windCORES idea. A 30 rack data center cube, directly under the wind turbine. A large, empty transformer building was used.
The colocation rack space in this windCORES Cube will be offered to aixit customers in the future. For all those who want to use even greener data center services. The aixit service quality and SLAs will of course remain the same for the windCORES products as usual.
"The roots of our company actually lie in the planning and operation of wind power plants. With windCORES, we have made a name for ourselves in a completely different industry over the last few years, which we want to expand together with the expertise and long-standing market position of aixit. For us, this is the perfect symbiosis of IT and energy know-how, which also works at eye level."
Dr. Fiete Dubberke, CEO WestfalenWIND IT
Price of electricity
Due to the tightened situation on the electricity exchange, it is increasingly important for customers in colocation data centers to pay close attention to the developments of the electricity price and to find out which quantities of electricity are consumed and therefore also have to be paid for.
The great thing about the sustainable windCORES concept is that there is no direct dependency on the prices on the electricity exchange, but the wind power can be offered directly by the parent company WestfalenWind. With fixed price commitments in the next years, there is the chance to offer the customers a very attractive price per kilowatt hour. At the moment this is an attractive 33 cents/kWh and can be guaranteed for up to three years. Feel free to contact us if you want to know more about the Datacenter electricity prices.
"Even windCORES cannot operate independently of prevailing market prices, but simply by eliminating grid fees through the direct use of wind power, our customers have a financial advantage over conventional data centers."
Dr. Fiete Dubberke, CEO WestfalenWIND IT
What the future holds
The next development of the windCORES concept is already ready. In the next expansion stage, a three-level steel structure will be built into the base area of a wind turbine. This will make it possible to accommodate and operate up to 60 racks in one turbine.
The construction concept has already been approved, so that the first construction of this type can begin shortly. Whoever is interested in these news will of course be informed here. And if you want to have a look at the windCORES data centers, please contact our sales team.
