• The first zero-carbon data centre in Qinghai exemplifies the role of the resource-rich western region in meeting the demands of energy-intensive data storage

Digital avatars have become a standard feature on e-commerce platforms. As virtual hosts, they emulate human behaviour, broadcast live programmes without interruption, and present “Made in China” products to foreign consumers, thanks to their proficiency in multiple languages. The impressive efficiency of these digital avatars is made possible by the colossal computing power that enables them to perform their functions. 

“This year, the storage requirements of the digital avatars have increased significantly, by approximately 500 times compared to last year. The current local storage capacity is no longer sufficient. In order to reduce costs, we have selected a data centre in Qinghai Province, in west China, for the storage and processing of our data. This has resulted in savings of over 10 percent in overall costs,” stated Liu Yinglu, senior algorithm engineer at Beijing-based JD.com, in an interview with CCTV. 

The transfer of such large data volumes from Beijing to Qinghai’s zero-carbon data centre located in Haidong is achieved through the utilisation of low-latency fibre-optic networks. This enables the transmission of data at speeds of 100 gbps over a distance of 1,600 km in less than 15 milliseconds. 

In 2022, China officially launched the “Eastern Data, Western Computing” (EDWC) project, with the objective of leveraging the substantial energy resources of the west, particularly renewable energy, to meet the increasing demand for computing capacity in the east. This pioneering project has resulted in the establishment of several data centres in the western region of the country, including the environmentally friendly data centre in Qinghai.

Data centres, often referred to as “energy monsters,” operate 24 hours a day and present a significant challenge: reducing energy consumption while maintaining regular functionality. The Qinghai zero-carbon data centre, opened in July 2022 and covering an area of 6.67 hectares, is the first of its kind to run entirely on clean energy. It can operate 314 days a year without air conditioning. Its Power Usage Effectiveness, or PUE, index is below 1.2. This index provides an assessment of energy efficiency for data centres. A score close to 1 indicates a more energy-efficient operation. 

The centre plans to install 15,360 standard racks, providing computing power equivalent to hundreds of millions of computers. The scale of this infrastructure requires a significant amount of electricity. To ensure the use of 100 percent green energy, the facility features a state-of-the-art display system that provides real-time monitoring of energy consumption, enabling precise tracing of energy sources. Additionally, the screen displays weekly consumption, carbon emission savings, and a breakdown of the different types of energy used. 

Renewable energy paradise  

Qinghai, situated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is a leading Chinese region for renewable energy production, benefitting from its extensive solar, hydro and wind resources. According to Yang Yanping, head of the centre, by August this year, the centre consumed 20 million kwh of clean energy, of which 50.42 percent came from hydroelectricity, 49.06 percent from solar power and 0.52 percent from wind power supplied mainly by local power stations. 

The climate of Qinghai is characterised by a cool and dry environment, with an average annual temperature of 3.7 °C. This provides an ideal setting for the deployment of water-cooling technologies, which employ both direct and indirect evaporation. These systems provide 314 days of natural cooling per year, representing 88 percent of the total cooling period. 

Furthermore, the centre’s offices are equipped with photovoltaic panels installed in the car parks, which generate the electricity used in these facilities. This system was commissioned at the outset of construction and has an installed capacity of 180 kw, generating approximately 200,000 kwh annually. This is equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 100 households, which is sufficient to power all the offices. 

In April 2023, the centre was awarded official carbon neutrality certification. Over the course of a year, it reduced its CO2 emissions by almost 300,000 tonnes, which is the equivalent of the amount of carbon absorbed by 20 million trees.  

Meng Xianpei, head of digital communications at the centre, explained that most of the data stored comes from Beijing, Zhejiang Province and other eastern regions, covering sectors such as industry, health care and public services. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, more and more companies in the east are renting servers in these data centres.

An ecological mega-project 

In February 2022, the Chinese government approved the creation of eight national IT hubs and 10 data centre clusters. The objective is to transfer some of the country’s IT resources from the east to the west, a less developed region that is rich in natural resources, such as Qinghai. This rebalancing will facilitate more harmonious and environmentally conscious development. 

In an interview with ChinAfrica, Qin Rongsheng, a professor at the National Accounting Institute in Beijing, highlighted that the digital economy is fundamentally reliant on data. The decision to build these hubs was taken in response to the growing demand for computing power, which is a key driver for the digital economy. The National Development and Reform Commission forecasts that this demand will grow by over 20 percent annually in China. 

The EDWC project is a strategic initiative that addresses the challenges of energy shortages, land scarcity and high electricity costs in the east, while leveraging the vast renewable resources in the west.  

As stated in a white paper on data centres released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in 2022, a mega data centre consumes nearly 100 million kwh of electricity a year. Chen Weijun, vice director of the Qinghai Data Bureau, has highlighted the role of the EDWC project in rebalancing the supply and demand for computing capacity between the eastern and western regions, while transforming an energy-hungry industry into a green and sustainable one.  

According to him, each yuan ($0.14) invested in computing capacity generates between three and four yuan ($0.42 and $0.56) of GDP. “By attracting capital and technology, the EDWC project is injecting a new dynamic into the economy of the western region and encouraging harmonious development between the regions,” he said.

African Times has published this article in partnership with ChinAfrica Magazine.