Posted Sep 28, 2022, 3:12 PMUpdated on Sep 28, 2022 at 3:13 p.m.
Transforming a problem into a solution is the challenge of the agreement signed on September 16 between Equinix, an American data center giant with 5.8 billion euros in turnover worldwide, and Smirec, district heating union present in the territories of La Courneuve, Saint-Denis, Stains, Pierrefitte, Ile Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers, Epinay-sur-Seine and Villetaneuse (Seine-Saint-Denis).
Concretely, the waste heat produced by the new data center of the company, in Saint-Denis (the eighth in the department) will be given to Plaine Commune Energie, a subsidiary of Engie and delegate of Smirec. Which, thanks to heat pumps installed in the building, will be able to recover it and transfer it to the district heating network, thus supplying part of the future ZAC de la Plaine Saulnier (12 hectares) and the Olympic aquatic center of Saint-Denis .
Go from 60% to 75% renewable energy
“For 15 years, Equinix has undertaken to provide 10,800 MWh of energy free of charge, which will make it possible to go from 60% renewable energy in the Smirec network to 75% for the ZAC and the aquatic center”, welcomes Laurent Monnet, president of Smirec and deputy mayor of Saint-Denis.
“Data centers are very numerous on the territory, and as elected officials we are more worried about their negative impacts. This great opportunity is an example of what we would like to generalize to all these locations, or at least to new ones. This could become a requirement for any facility,” he adds.
Indeed, certain arrangements are necessary to be able to pump the fatal heat from the data centers. While Equinix has provided for this from the design of this new center, the others cannot accommodate heat pumps.
Delivery in 2024
In addition, for this to be interesting, the data centers concerned must be close to an area requiring an energy supply. This is the case of the ZAC Plaine Saulnier and the aquatic center, which are located just opposite the warehouse, hence the fact that the connection to the heating network will cost “only” 4.3 million euros. , a quarter of which was funded by Equinix.
Work to connect and install the heat pumps should begin in early 2023 for delivery in 2024. Initially, only the aquatic center will benefit from it, from the start of training for the Olympic Games, before the programming of the ZAC does not begin.
