Imaginaries on ice:Sociotechnical futures of data centre development in Norway and Iceland

In 2018, Norway promoted itself as a ‘Datacentre Nation’. In terms of low cost, renewably generated sources of electricity and low ambient temperatures, Nordic countries and the data centre sector are potentially mutual beneficiaries – yet, there are also negative impacts associated with the necessary electric power production. With this as a starting point, for Norway and Iceland, we explore how data centre proponents promulgate similar techno-environmental imaginaries, but achieve differing degrees of stabilisation. To this end, we use three sources of imaginaries relating to data centre development in Iceland and Norway: those implicit in promotional imagery originating within the countries concerned; those implicit in international newspapers, as indicative of external perceptions; and those implicit in focus groups with the Norwegian and Icelandic public. We show how data centre advocates deploy visual imagery to create a promotional techno-environmental imaginary that marries nature with the digital in a symbiotic form, and we observe that this is largely consistent with the more mundane international imaginary of Norwegian data centres. For Iceland, however, the external imaginary is dominated by associations of excess energy consumption by bitcoin mining. For the publics questioned, there are multiple imaginaries of data centres, with significant notes of moral and other forms of scepticism. Looking ahead, we suggest that for long-term stabilisation of positive data centre imaginaries, conducive to investment, the capacity of Iceland and Norway to equitably supply sufficient renewable power will need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.</p

Positive externalities of decarbonization: quantifying the full potential of avoided deaths and displaced carbon emissions from renewable energy and nuclear power

Earlier research in this journal suggests that nuclear power systems have prevented 1.84 million air pollution-related deaths from 1971 to 2009 and could save an additional 7 million deaths by 2050. Building on that work, we adopt a broader lens that looks at renewable energy and nuclear power as well as a greater range of energy pathways. We examine via 10 hypothetical scenarios and two time frames the varying impact of different technology configurations on the full potential of avoided carbon emissions and avoided mortality across China, the European Union, India, and the United States. From 2000 to 2020, we estimate the substitution of fossil fuels by nuclear power has saved as many as 42 million lives. Similarly, substituting fossil fuels with hydropower has saved 42.1 million lives (slightly more than that for nuclear power). Finally, other forms of renewable energy have saved another 38 million lives . We project that from 2021 to 2040, nuclear power could save an additional 46.1 million lives and displace 1198 GtCO2; hydropower could save a further 46.2 million lives and displace 1281.47 GtCO2; substituting fossil fuels with other renewable energy could similarly save an additional 41.2 million lives as well as displace over 1250 GtCO2. We offer a critical thought experiment on just how much potential low-carbon options have to provide positive externalities compared to fossil fuels

Making the internet globally sustainable: technical and policy options for improved energy management, governance and community acceptance of Nordic datacenters

Both policymakers and the technology industry need to do more to combat the ever-growing demand for data and its associated energy impacts. In this study, based on novel corporate data, expert interviews, focus groups with members of the public, extensive site visits across Greenland, Iceland and Norway and a literature review, we look at the energy and climate impacts of existing and proposed datacenters, both quantitatively and in terms of stakeholder and public perceptions. The paper examines datacenter management and sustainability practices in the Nordic region. It explores what community impacts occur, and how communities manage conflicting objectives. It investigates the technical and policy options that can make datacenters more sustainable and/or lower-carbon and it explores associated stakeholder and public views in the three countries. In exploring these themes, our study examines the shifting energy governance of datacenters, including patterns of electricity consumption and cooling but also circular economy operations and power densities. We also analyze a series of 40 solutions for eco-friendly design or green datacenter management across the entire lifecycle. We conclude with implications for energy and climate policy as well as future research

The “whole systems” energy sustainability of digitalization: humanizing the community risks and benefits of Nordic datacenter development

Digital platforms and the online services that they provide have become an indispensable and ubiquitous part of modern lifestyles, mediating our jobs, hobbies, patterns of consumption and forms of communication. However, no one is steering this development, or closely looking at the impacts that it may have on remote communities in the Arctic and Nordic region, a hotspot for datacenter development. Moreover, unlike other areas of energy consumption or technology adoption prone to rich, qualitative assessments, such work on datacenters involving local stakeholders and environmental concerns is less common, particularly at a larger scale. In this study, based on novel mixed methods—including corporate data, expert interviews, focus groups, and extensive site visits—across three countries, we offer a geographically and technologically bounded assessment looking at the sustainability impacts of datacenters on local communities. We ask: What impacts are occurring as part of datacenter development or planning proposals in Greenland, Iceland, and Norway? What is the actual and anticipated scale of those impacts on local Arctic communities? Finally, what impacts to datacenter development occur at the “whole systems” level? We examine not only impacts onsite at existing or proposed datacenters, but an entire range of consequences including the manufacturing of equipment, the laying of data cables, the construction of buildings, and issues of the dark web, cryptocurrency mining, hacking, spying, waste and decommissioning. Moreover, we humanize risks and benefits not only across scales, but also categorical types, including local impacts such as boom and bust cycles, the displacement of indigenous groups for land – particularly for power supply - and impacts on employment, especially after datacenters may close

Benchmarks for energy access: Policy vagueness and incoherence as barriers to sustainable electrification of the global south

© 2019 The unavailability of tangible policy benchmarks continues to mitigate against sustainable electrification in the global south. Furthermore, incoherent policy benchmarks as to what should constitute clean energy allow for varying interpretations and divergent options in electrifying households across the global south. The multiplicity of policies to deepen access to improved energy services in the global south notwithstanding, ‘success’ is not in sight until definite and uniform benchmarks guide the roll-out of electrification schemes

Justice, poverty, and electricity decarbonization

Drawing from examples in Germany, California, and Australia, we show that large scale integration of renewable energy in existing electricity grids does not necessarily lead to cheaper electricity, the strengthening of energy security, or the enhancement of economic equity. Indeed, efforts to integrate renewable energy into the grid can thwart efforts to reduce chronic poverty. Planners around the world need to be cautious, pragmatic and realistic when attempting to similarly decarbonize their energy systems

Metrics for Decision-Making in Energy Justice

Energy equity and justice have become priority considerations for policy-makers, practitioners, and scholars alike. To ensure that energy equity is incorporated into actual decisions and analysis, it is necessary to design, use, and continually improve energy equity metrics. In this article, we review the literature and practices surrounding such metrics. We present a working definition for energy justice and equity, and connect them to both criteria for and frameworks of metrics. We then present a large sampling of energy equity metrics, including those focused on vulnerability, wealth creation, energy poverty, life cycle, and comparative country-level dynamics.We conclude with a discussion of the limitations, gaps, and trade-offs associated with these various metrics and their interactions thereof

Repurposing electricity access research for the global south: A tale of many disconnects

Dr. Monyei is currently a research fellow on energy policy and sustainable decarbonization at the University of the West of England, where he works as a researcher and consultant on issues pertaining to sustainable energy systems modeling. Specifically, his research spans core electrical engineering, the social sciences, and computer science and focuses on sustainable development, integration of renewable energy systems, smart grid, applied artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, and the design of public policy to help facilitate easy access to electricity and improvement in the resilience of energization systems. Kingsley O. Akpeji received his BSc(Eng) degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2014 and the MSc(Eng) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2019. He is currently a teaching and research assistant at the Department of Electrical Engineering, UCT. His passion for a just energy transition and the alleviation of energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa reflects in his research on decentralized electricity supply systems, cost of interruptions of electricity supply to commercial and industrial end-users, and sustainable electrification frameworks and policies. This paper highlights important issues related to electrification in the Global South (subsequently referred to as the region). The challenges and misconceptions around sustainable electrification in the region—in particular, Sub-Saharan Africa—are succinctly discussed. Several readily implementable solutions are suggested to reduce the vagueness of electrification policies and failure of electrification projects and improve electricity access in the region

An intelligent load manager for PV powered off-grid residential houses

This paper proposes a management system based on certain rule set implemented by Modified Mild Intrusive Genetic Algorithm (MMIGA) that will optimize the load allocation to match the house owner affordable solar system inverter. The algorithm optimized load allocation in real time in both sufficient and insufficient supplies of energy. A daily load discrimination profile is first established followed by the development of priority matrix for the respective time of the day; MMIGA is then used to intelligently evolve a sequence of bits, which are then implemented by the hardware while observing certain set of rules. The result shows that about 98.88% allocation was obtained in the sufficient case scenario while 99.84% allocation was achieved in the insufficient scenario. The proposed algorithm meets the objective of being cost effective, smart, simple to use and can be severally applied to different load profiles