Can solar power sustain the Internet backbone?

The short answer is ‘no’. In my opinion, network providers and operators are placing too much faith in solar power. Even so, there is much they can do to make meaningful progress towards sustainable networking.

The most pressing issue facing society today is climate change, and as a result we face a global green energy challenge. The United Nations leaves us in no doubt. “The science is clear,” it says. “To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, emissions need to be reduced by almost half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. To achieve this, we need to end our reliance on fossil fuels and invest in alternative sources of energy that are clean, accessible, affordable, sustainable and reliable.”

Powering the Internet

Against this background, data centers are particularly energy intensive, with a large facility typically using more than 30 GWh per year. Such heavy consumption makes it unsurprising that efforts have so far been focused on how to increase the energy efficiency of data centers and reduce their carbon footprint.

While much of the energy debate remains focused on data centers, the network itself is also a significant energy user. Experts predict that by 2025 the Internet backbone will use 20% of all the world’s electricity, with energy consumption growing rapidly as more devices and data centers are brought online. This is a huge amount of energy, so when it comes to powering the Internet backbone, we need to ensure that we use the right kind of electricity and save where we can.

In striving for sustainability, network providers and operators need to consider carefully what energy sources are most suitable, now and into the future. One key question is: does solar offer the solution?

Network operators and technology companies seem to think so. According to Arelion’s recent report about the impact of the energy crisis on business networks in several key industries (including IT, financial services & banking, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing), 40% of leaders in these sectors see solar energy as the power source of choice for the networks of the future.

I think this is unrealistic. Successful network operations depend entirely upon a reliable and consistent source of energy 24/7, which the intermittent nature of solar energy production cannot provide. Even with the right infrastructure in place, the sun simply does not shine for long enough, or predictably enough, in many areas of the world. Until we see a major improvement in battery technology, solar and wind power are essentially just complementary energy sources that help to reduce the costs and carbon footprint of a network.

Creating a greener future

Despite the current limitations of renewables, network providers and operators have a crucial role to play in promoting sustainable energy resources and maximizing network energy efficiency. Consumption needs to be reduced in our sector, especially considering the current cost of energy.

As an industry, there are several key steps we can take to create a greener future. Most obviously, we can upgrade equipment. Assessing the energy efficiency of legacy hardware and prioritizing its replacement with newer, more energy-efficient technologies is where the biggest impact can be made. Arguably, we are quite good at this already, but we need to get even better. I expect this to be a trend that gathers pace over the months and years ahead. But this is only part of the story. There is much more we can do to improve the energy efficiency of active infrastructure.

Take strategic planning. Here, thorough capacity assessments, anticipation of traffic growth and strategically deployed resources can all help to minimize energy consumption. Then there’s inventory management. An efficient inventory tracking system to monitor the age, condition and power usage of each piece of equipment is crucial in maintaining a sustainable network operation. Another key area is preventive maintenance, where regularly scheduled inspections, proactive equipment upkeep and timely repairs are essential to avoid energy inefficiencies and minimize downtime.

Taking an industry lead

Arelion’s extensive geographical reach and control of our own network infrastructure allow us to make greener energy choices. For example, we own a multitude of large and small sites across Europe, which enables us to source green energy where it is most abundant, from carefully chosen providers.

We can also use our own facilities to generate solar power. We recently deployed solar panels at two of our sites in Germany, which produced sufficient power to return a surplus to the energy provider’s network – proving that the network itself can contribute to green energy.

While such action has an immediate impact on capital expenditure, the long-term sustainability and power efficiency gains make it worthwhile. Overall, 80% of our wholly owned sites were powered by renewable sources by Q1 2023, and we reduced our carbon footprint by more than a third during 2022. Overall, Arelion has successfully managed to flatten energy consumption in our network during the past few years, despite explosive bandwidth growth:

A positive start

Right now, it is clearly unrealistic to expect green energy alone to meet global energy demand. Similarly, solar power cannot sustain the Internet backbone. But the message from the UN and other experts is clear: households and businesses should strive for energy efficiency and increase their use of renewables wherever possible. Network operators and enterprise network owners are no exception.

To end on a positive note, Arelion’s energy research (as mentioned above) found that, overall, network operators are using the current energy crisis as a springboard to a cleaner and more sustainable future, with 61% increasing investment in the network operations to bring about improved energy efficiency. To me, that sounds like a promising start on our journey to sustainable networking.

Mattias Fridström, Chief Evangelist