Microsoft, which has data centres in Middenmeer, is fed up with all the negative publicity surrounding it. Amongst other things, the use of drinking water to cool the data centres is under attack.
Reason enough for the data giant to respond in detail to EenVandaag, a Dutch tv program, yesterday, announcing announce that it will be cooling its data centers with rainwater. For this, they approached ECW Energy, a private energy company that has been reusing rainwater for fifteen years by collecting it and storing it in basins and in soil.
Robert Kielstra of ECW Energy estimates that the company needs thirty percent of its own rainwater for cooling its data center. In addition, Microsoft can then supply greenhouses at Agriport with water. "They become a net supplier instead of a user," he says.
The solution is more expensive because water costs almost nothing in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, Microsoft has opted for this solution under pressure from the authorities, among others. They still have to issue permits, although Kielstra expects that this will be all right.
Source: EenVandaag