Sustainable Tech Advancements: Italy’s First Data Centre Heat Recovery Initiative

Italian telecommunications and data centre company Retelit has announced a groundbreaking initiative to repurpose waste heat generated by its Milan data centre. Through a collaboration with engineering firm DBA and local utility company A2A Calore e Servizi, Retelit’s Avalon 3 data centre will supply heat to warm 1,250 households in Municipality 6 of the city.

This innovative approach demonstrates Retelit’s commitment to sustainability and showcases the potential for data centres to contribute to community welfare and environmental responsibility.

The upcoming project involves the development of a new facility, which is scheduled to become operational in early 2026. This facility will harness waste heat from Avalon 3 and channel it into the district heating network. It is anticipated that the plant will contribute 2.5MW of thermal power annually and result in a 15GWh increase in recoverable energy for the network. The companies involved have highlighted that this initiative will lead to an annual energy saving equivalent to 1300 tons of oil and will also prevent the release of 3,300 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The project aims to increase the number of households served annually by 1,250, resulting in a saving of 1,300 tons of oil equivalent (TOE) of energy. Additionally, the project will help avoid the emission of 3,300 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to the environmental benefits provided by 24,000 trees.

In recent years, data centres have been increasingly turning to the practice of recovering waste heat as a means to reduce their carbon footprint. This sustainable approach has gained significant popularity and is being widely adopted within the industry.