As demand for online services grows, Google's data-center presence is fast expanding in Europe. But instead of increasing carbon emissions, the company says these new builds are accelerating the EU's commitment to tackling climate change.
Work is under way in Hamina, Finland, for the construction of Google's sixth data center in Europe, following the opening last week of a new building in Fredericia, Denmark. This week, Google's second data center in the Netherlands will also start operating in Middenmeer.
The search giant's investment in new European infrastructure is the direct result of exploding consumer demand for services ranging from YouTube videos to Google Maps, which was propelled by the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying shift to remote working and online learning.
SEE: IT Data Center Green Energy Policy[1] (TechRepublic Premium)
Demand will only increase in the next few years, and with it the need for more data centers to support and deliver cloud services. However, Google will have to take the EU's commitment to combatting climate change on-board: only last week, the EU announced a 55% reduction target for CO2 emissions by 2030[2], in addition to a 32% renewable energy target.
Data centers are notoriously power hungry, and were responsible for 0.8% of global electricity demand last year. Nevertheless, Matt Brittin, Google's president in Europe, said that the company will be a driver of Europe's transition towards a green economy.
"Google is helping to accelerate this transition," wrote Brittin in a new blog post[3]. "We are proud to invest in Europe's digital infrastructure, contribute to the local communities we operate in and support Europe's green transition. This will be a decisive decade, and we are committed to leading by example."
Since 2017, Google has matched the company's energy use with 100% renewable energy.