Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft has partnered with sustainable electricity supplier Ecotricity to power its forthcoming New Zealand data centre region – which comprises three separate data centres – will fully carbon-free energy.
From the day it opens, the data centres will use only using ‘Toitū net carbonzero’ certified electricity sourced from solar, wind and hydro. The Toitū certification ensures the carbon neutrality of associated initiatives.
The partnership is a key step in helping Microsoft meet its commitments to become carbon negative by 2030, remove all historical carbon from the environment by 2050, and use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025.
The move also supports the shift from on-premises computing to the cloud, with a Microsoft study having shown that the Azure cloud platform can be up to 93 per cent more energy efficient and up to 98 per cent more carbon efficient than on-premises solutions.
“If you’ve ever studied actual clouds, you’ll know they’re monumentally heavy, despite their fluffy appearance,” said Russell Craig, National Technology Officer at Microsoft New Zealand. “But here on earth, we need to ensure the cloud weighs as little as possible. That’s why we’re building a data centre region that helps create a cloud dividend for Aotearoa – one that supports us all to lighten our carbon footprints sooner.”