On locating sustainable Data Centers in Portugal: Problem structuring and GIS-based analysis

Data Centers (DCs) are high energy intensive facilities due to the large power requirements of the computing equipment and the infrastructure needed to support it, in particular cooling systems. Nowadays, the capacity and consequently the energy demand of DCs is growing rapidly to meet the digitalization of the society. In order to meet sustainability concerns, the construction of a new DC must address the economic and environmental impacts of the different design options and one of the most crucial choices to be made concerns the location of the DC. This paper presents a brief overview of the current landscape of Portuguese DCs, based on the results of a survey. It also proposes a methodology to identify the best areas to locate a new DC in Portugal, using a new structure for evaluation criteria, based on inputs from industry experts. The relevant data was collected in a Geographical Information System (GIS) and successive filters were applied to progressively reduce the number of candidate sites. Finally, an analysis to the benefits of having DCs on those sites in comparison with their current locations was made, and the results show that the chosen sites to locate these facilities were not the best solution to achieve a more sustainable DC.