Sustainable heating of Meerhoven residential area with servers: how Interconnect is going to phase out a bio-energy plant in Brainport
Interconnect will then be able to transfer its residual heat to the grid via a heat exchanger. The company will receive cold in return via the heat exchanger. As a result, the company will need to use less cooling, which saves energy.
Datacenter Interconnect at Park Forum will supply residual heat to the Municipality of Eindhoven for the heating network in Meerhoven. The mayor and aldermen of Eindhoven have identified this plan as a preferred alternative. The proposal is now being further developed, including an analysis of the financial implications, after which the municipal council will make a final decision.
The residual heat will enable the municipality to gradually phase out the use of the bio-energy plant in Meerhoven. This aligns with the municipal council’s 2020 decision to use biomass as a transitional fuel and to eventually remove it from Eindhoven’s energy mix.
Heat from servers
The Dutch data center and cloud specialist Interconnect Services BV offers approximately 6,000 square meters of data center floor space at Park Forum to customers who house their servers here or purchase server capacity. The heat generated by the equipment in the data center can be used for the heating network that is already in use in Meerhoven. According to the plans, Interconnect's Eindhoven data center can be connected to the existing heating network of Meerhoven as an alternative source. Interconnect will then be able to transfer its residual heat to the network via a heat exchanger. The company receives cold in return via the heat exchanger. As a result, the company needs to use less cooling, which saves energy.
Win-Win situation
Rob Stevens, CEO of Interconnect, calls the proposal a true win-win. “It perfectly aligns with our efforts to make a meaningful contribution to the energy transition. The residual heat from our Eindhoven data center is currently lost but can be fully utilized through this initiative. We have been pursuing an ambitious green policy for years and, for example, use 100 percent green energy in our data centers. This proposal fits seamlessly with that approach and makes an important contribution to both the digital and energy transitions. It allows us to make even better use of every kilowatt hour of electricity.”
Rik Thijs, Alderman for Climate and Energy of the Municipality of Eindhoven, adds: “By 2050, the city’s energy supply must be fully sustainable. Achieving this requires multiple solutions, including the use of sustainable residual heat. This decision could become an important step that helps realize the energy transition.”