Booming data-center business creates troubles for India

Country's energy shortfall could dampen projections that data center industry could double in the next two years.
The biggest challenge to India's booming data storage industry is the country's energy shortfall, according to a new report by research firm Gartner.

Total data center capacity in India is expected to reach 5.1 million square feet by 2012, representing 31 percent growth from 2007 to 2012. And within the next two years, the industry is projected to double, the report said.

That growth is being driven by demands of the financial, telecom, manufacturing and service sectors.

In the long run, India has the potential to become a hub for data centers for the Middle East, East Africa and Southeast Asia.

Storage demand has increased from one petabyte in 2001 to 34 petabytes in 2007, said Nareshchandra Singh, principal research analyst for Gartner.

However, India's estimated 15-percent energy shortfall has already affected data centers in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, he said 15 percent to 17 percent energy shortfall during peak demand (see India to remove cap on wind incentives).

"The biggest challenge is the concern about a lack of energy supplies in the country," Singh said.

Gartner recommended that Indian companies incorporate virtualization and other energy-savings measures (see Data centers: $7B in annual energy costs). The report also suggested combined heat and power technologies, also known as cogeneration, for the simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat from a single fuel source, such as natural gas, biomass, biogas, coal, waste heat or oil.

"Setting up energy-efficient data centers is critical," Singh said. "The Indian government’s efforts to harness alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind and water will also play a crucial role in supplying the ever-increasing energy demands of the local data center market."

Source: http://www.cleantech.com/