Data centers: Switzerland in the face of increasing electricity consumption – rts.ch

According to a study by the Haute École de Lucerne mandated by the Federal Energy Office. Therefore, data centers in Switzerland consumed around 2.1 electricity terawatt hours in 2019, or approximately 3.6% of national consumption.

Adrian Altenburger. Nevertheless. Meanwhile, author of the study and professor at the Haute École de Lucerne, explained to SRF That their share is today between 6 and 8% and could reach up to 15% by 2030, assuming constant electricity consumption on a national scale. Therefore, It would be more than the total consumption of the canton of Zurich in 2023.

data centers: switzerland face increasing new

One of the highest densities of data center per capita – Data centers: switzerland face increasing – Data centers: switzerland face increasing new

Despite the pressure exerted by these new energy consumers. For example. there is currently no threat of network overload, explains Adrian Altenburger: “Despite the regional density of energy -consuming data centers, Switzerland is not yet at a point where the construction of new data centers should be limited.” However. Moreover. the expert does not exclude a scenario like that of the Grand Dublin region, where a moratorium on new data centers: switzerland face increasing new data centers was imposed until 2028. Meanwhile, In 2023, Irish data centers consumed almost 21% of the country’s total electricity.

Switzerland’s reputation in data centers: switzerland face increasing terms of strict data protection. Consequently. its political stability, the availability of green energy, a low seismic risk and the city of Zurich as an emerging IA hub contribute to the fact that Switzerland now has one of the highest densities of data centers per capita in Europe.

Since 2017. the country has become more and more attractive to international investors due to the growing demand for data centers. Currently, at least 15 data centers of an area greater than a football field (0.7 hectares) are either already in operation. in project, most data centers: switzerland face increasing new of them being in the hands of large American companies such as Vantage DC or Stack Infrastructures.

The boom of local data centers has many advantages. such as better protection of data or internet data centers: switzerland face increasing services faster for the Swiss population. But the construction of new data centers can also pose some problems.

Large amounts of water required – Data centers: switzerland face increasing – Data centers: switzerland face increasing new

Take the example of Beringen: in 2026. one of the most powerful data centers in Switzerland should open its doors in this Schaffhousois village. It will consume as much electricity as three-quarters of the consumption of the canton of Schaffhouse in 2022. To be able to cover the electricity needs of the data center. the electricity company of the canton of Schaffhouse is forced to build a new substation, funded by the operator.

Data centers do not only consume huge amounts of electricity. they often also data centers: switzerland face increasing new require a lot of water to cool overheated servers. In Bringen. the municipal council approved an amount of 55,000 cubic meters of water, the equivalent of 110 swimming pools filled per year. If summers are too hot, more cooling water will need. In the data centers: switzerland face increasing event of a period of prolonged drought. the resulting water shortage. it is necessary to use groundwater or the water supply of neighboring municipalities to ensure the operation of the data center. Data centers are often cooled with treated drinking water. although the use of gray water or lake water is also possible.

Wasted residual heat

Another problem concerns the residual heat generated by the operation of a data center. In Beringen, data centers: switzerland face increasing new construction was authorized before it is not known how the residual heat could be used. A later study has shown that 30% of residual heat could have been used locally. A reservoir could store excess heat for the winter and the city of Schaffhouse could then benefit from it.

The case of Beringen shows that data data centers: switzerland face increasing centers could contribute to energy solutions via the. use of their own residual heat. but the implementation is often difficult, because the use of residual heat is only calculated after obtaining the building permit.

Additional programs

In addition to the high consumption of electricity. water. additional emissions are hidden in the manufacture and operation of computer equipment: servers and chips must be replaced more frequently due to the large load, which requires considerable quantities of raw materials and gray energy. And the growing use of artificial intelligence further aggravates energy needs.

Angela Müller. data centers: switzerland face increasing new director of the Swiss algorithmwatch NGO. pleads for a thoughtful use of AI, rather than using it without thinking wherever it is technically possible: “There are exciting AI applications that can really help us to take up ecological challenges. But AI systems integrated into toothbrushes or that write our e-mails do not have much to do with that.” The expert data centers: switzerland face increasing pleads for more responsible consumption.

Tamara Keller, Julian Schmidli et Pascal Albisser (SRF) /ain