LOGO
INSIDE THE GRONINGEN SEAPORT DATA CENTRE ECOSYSTEM
Example Cover
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CONNECTING THE
WORLD WITH GREEN ENERGY
WRIT TEN BY
CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY
LE WIS VAUGHAN
w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
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The data centre industry and subsequent demand for energy is growing apace. Manager for Energy & Dataport, ROBERT VAN TUINEN, tells us how Groningen Seaports is catering to this demand
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ROBERT VAN TUINEN is responsible for the development of the energy, IT and automotive sector within both ports. He has an academic background in business administration and previously worked for a national bank and as a manager for an energy knowledge institute.
Chemical industry Delfzijl
T
he ongoing demand for
In particular, there are big invest-
connectivity has led to an
ments coming from the data centre
exponential boom within
sector itself,” explains Robert Van
the energy sector, thanks largely to
Tuinen, Manager for Energy &
the launch of data centres world-
Dataport at Groningen Seaports.
wide. The communications industry
Consisting of two seaports, the
is set to absorb up to 20% of the
port of Delfzijl and Eemshaven, as
world’s electricity by 2025, as busi-
well as two inland ports, Farmsum-
nesses and consumers depend on
erhaven and Oosterhornhaven, Van
the increased use of digital data to
Tuinen has led the growth of one of
fuel business growth.
Europe’s largest energy hubs for
Europe has become a significant
data and a growing offshore wind
player, where competition remains rife
sector. The 1,319 hectare site at
in an area of unprecedented potential.
Eemshaven has been transformed
“A major change is that it’s no
into an area of international signifi-
longer big telecom operators or
cance within the data centre
state-owned telecom companies
industry, renowned for accessibility
who are investing in connectivity,
and quality. Utilised by international
it’s mostly commercially driven.
companies, the area is driven by w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
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Your business case today
translated in smart data centre space for tomorrow
Royal HaskoningDHV is an independent, international engineering and project management consultancy with 135 years of experience. Backed by the expertise and experience of 6,000 colleagues all over the world, our professionals combine ‘global expertise’ with ‘local knowledge’ to deliver a multidisciplinary range of consultancy services. By showing leadership and innovation in the design of data centres, we are creating solutions for a vital infrastructure in our modern live and empower a sustainable society now and into the future. For more information, please contact: Martien Arts, Director - Mission Critical Facilities T: +31 88 348 6550 M: +31 6 51846333 E: martien.arts@rhdhv.com www.royalhaskoningdhv.com/datacentres
100% renewable energy. “In 2012, we said that we were going to invest millions in this new port area. We had this million-euro programme to redevelop land and start conversations with landowners and foreign investors to take a look at Eemshaven. It was still predominantly farmland, but people needed to believe in this,” Van Tuinen recalls. “A few years back, I thought, ‘we need others to tell our story as well’. We combined the data port development together with
“ IT’S NO LONGER BIG TELECOM OPERATORS OR STATE-OWNED TELECOM COMPANIES WHO ARE INVESTING IN CONNECTIVITY, IT’S MOSTLY COMMERCIALLY DRIVEN. THERE ARE BIG INVESTMENTS COMING FROM THE DATA CENTRE SECTOR” — Robert Van Tuinen, Manager for Energy & Dataport
partnerships, who we call ‘preferred suppliers’. These were the early movers who believed in the concept. “Energy suppliers in general weren’t used to structured power purchase agreements based on joint equity or very long terms for instance,” he continues. “This may sound funny, but five or six years ago, this wasn’t something normal for energy companies. Eneco was a good match with the specific demand coming from the industry, one of the first w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
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companies to believe in the area and
GAINING SUPPORT
pioneered the way.
To gain further clout, the company
“Most energy companies were
appointed Deloitte to undertake an
scared at doing structured deals, so it
essential market analysis on the data
was a different time. The other thing
port area. Finding Eemshaven to have
was asking fibre developers to join.
future potential, Groningen Seaports
We partnered with Relined as it was
also appointed specialists who worked
the first company with a network in
specifically for technology companies,
the Eemshaven area.�
such as Microsoft, Google and Apple.
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Your datacenter running on additional renewable energy in 2020? Wind farm Delfzijl currently supplying GOOGLE datacenter Eemshaven
Working with partners
Eneco Group
Brands & Business Units
Green Data Port
We make it happen. When you decide to build your datacenter in Green
together and helping to find solutions to a wide range of energy
Data Port Eemshaven, we will take care of the availability of more
issues. We cannot realize these ambitions by ourselves. It’s possible
than 230MW (+/-650 GWh) of additional, green and local energy.
only when we connect ideas, technologies, people and companies.
An abundance of space, close to wind- and solarfarms
That’s why we’re working together with startups, universities, research institutes and other innovative organizations on innovative
We work together with or on assignment for customers. We invest
energy services that give consumers and companies control over
with partners in the sustainable production of electricity and heat and
their own energy. This is how we’re making green energy accessible,
cold. That way, we use each other’s knowledge to realize a greater
affordable and scalable. Enhanced by one of the most reliable grids in
production capacity with the same financial resources.
Europe, with enough power supply for any datacenter development in the future.
We have only one planet. Every year, worldwide we take 1.6 times more out of our planet than it can cope. Our goal is to guide the
We take this responsibility seriously. In the countries in which
energy consumption of our company and our customers within the
we’re active, we work together with (local) governments, energy
planet’s recovery capacity. All our activities are aimed at preventing
cooperatives and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as
further global warming. We’re doing this not just for ourselves but
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In the Netherlands, Eneco Group is
also for future generations. More and more people and companies are
one of the founders of the Dutch Association for Sustainable Energy,
becoming aware of the way they live. And more and more of them are
an association that combines the forces of its members so that we
taking matters into their own hands. Eneco Group is helping people
can speed up the energy transition together. So we don’t just provide
and companies to make an energy transition.
support with capital but also by sharing knowledge and experience
Our mission, “Everybody’s sustainable energy”, is the basis for the
Want to know more about our 230MW projects for Green Data Port Eemshaven?
innovative energy solutions we want to develop so that people can determine where and how they generate, use, store and share clean energy. We’re convinced that this is the way to achieve a liveable planet. Eneco Group isn’t a traditional energy company. The energy
Click here to find out more
transition requires us to work together in a different way. The current customer-supplier relationship is disappearing. Individuals, companies, municipalities and other market parties are now working with each
Joost de Boer
other in multiple changing roles. Eneco Group – with its numerous
Manager the Nederlands–North for Eneco Group
brands and business units – is the connecting link bringing parties
joost.deboer@eneco.com | +31 (0)6 – 55 69 70 91
Welcome to the new world.
“It’s a pretty strong story with a lot of partnerships, but these companies are
Haskoning DHV is independent, it believes in the story and has a strong
also competing against one another with advisory opinion.” Van Tuinen says. more renewable project coming online in the next few years,” adds Van Tuinen. “We have a partnership with Eneco, but also with other energy companies,
“They look not just at land development but also cooling. They believe Eemshaven is a good area; it has lots of air, good quality, good wind, and is one of
which is why we call them ‘preferred sup- the best locations. The company also pliers’. Of course, data centre companies bought investors to our port. When are free in who they want to work with” Additionally, the company’s strong
they’re busy with conducting business, they use Eemshaven as an example port.”
partnership with Royal Haskoning DHV has provided support across its data
GREEN DATA PORT
centre operations.
Harnessing a combination of green
“We asked Royal Haskoning DHV to
energy, the largest onshore wind farm
inform companies of our technology mis- is located in Eemshaven together with sion and why they believe Eemshaven is a multiple substations connecting good area for their data centres. Royal
Danish and Dutch offshore wind farms, w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
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“ ROYAL HASKONING DHV IS INDEPENDENT, IT BELIEVES IN THE STORY AND HAS A STRONG ADVISORY OPINION” — Robert Van Tuinen, Manager for Energy & Dataport
besides the 30MW solar farm, iSunport Delfzijl, the largest solar energy park in the country, all of which fall under Groningen Seaports’ umbrella. “If you look for the major developments worldwide, it clearly makes sense to think about data centres. However, to be honest, we didn’t expect such a demand for land usage,” reflects Van Tuinen. “I don’t think the sector itself could have foreseen how much land it would need for further growth”. “Google has recently purchased all green electricity generated at Sunport Delfzijl for 10 years as part of a second deal with Eneco on top of the earlier energy deal combined with a local Eneco windfarm. The company recently announced another €500mn investment after €950mn spent over the last couple of years. This is great news for our region, which has shown great support for the data port development. The challenge was that we
w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
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needed to develop more land close to
Marc Oman, EU Energy Lead at
the port, anticipating all further growth
Google recently commented in a press
from the data centre sector itself.”
release: “We are proud that our data
“We did this in partnership with the
centre in Eemshaven has been powered
local government and environmental
by renewable energy since day one
organisations, who saw an opportunity
thanks to our agreements with Dutch
to combine green energy and recreate
suppliers. After the agreement with
some major values before it was all
Eneco for the delivery of wind energy
agricultural. A data centre provider
from WindPark Delfzijl and the agree-
must feel comfortable with their invest-
ments with the wind parks Krammer and
ment, of course, which has to do with
Bouwdokken, we are pleased that we
the local support,” adds van Tuinen.
can now also make use of solar energy.
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The Vole au vent jack-up vessel
Click to watch: ‘Googles EU data centre community Stories from the Netherlands’ 15
“Google is the world’s largest corpo-
“The ‘plug and play’ model has also
rate purchaser of renewable energy.
helped with the technical part. Through
Contracts like this also give companies
our partnerships we secured extra
like Eneco the economic certainty to
international fibre, boosted cooling
invest in new renewable energy capacity.” water facilities, reinvestments, and of course the redundant power connec-
TECHNOLOGICAL BACKBONE
tions with the grid operator.”
In order to strengthen its connectivity
Additionally, by attracting investors
capabilities, Groningen Seaports has
from fibre companies, it has attracted
worked to house a ‘plug and play model’
essential fibre packages, with low latency
across its operations, where its need for routes crossing Amsterdam, Germany, cooling water and redundant power is
Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia.
set apart from its power purchase
“Data centre companies need a cer-
agreement based on green energy.
tain amount of connectivity via separate w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
routes or a different fibre system.
interesting market for data centres and
If you want to attract various new
not just the Google’s of this world,” Van
economy industries, this is essential,”
Tuinen says earnestly.
says Van Tuinen. “The most important thing is that
By combining green energy cables across the Northsea with essential
we succeeded in enabling Google to
fibre packages, the company has man-
work with Eneco. It was a new project
aged to reduce costs significantly and
and provided an opportunity for
created the fastest route between the
Google to harness green energy. They
Netherlands and Denmark with Eem-
have run on green energy from day
shaven becoming a fibre and data
one and enhanced major green
roundabout in North West Europe
investments in the region.”
thanks to Relined’s network. With greater demand for green
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GROWING DEMANDS
energy on a global scale, the compa-
“The Netherlands has proven to be an
ny’s largest wind farm is set to grow
a further 200MW in the next three
“Everybody needs to keep pace with
years, providing time to further
a new economy,” he concludes. “The
enhance its data centre operations.
good news is that all political parties in
“Demand for land in Eemshaven is
Groningen are very supportive towards
rising fast, not just from the data centre
data centres, the automotive sector
sector but also with the launch of elec-
and the new economy. It provides a
tric and hybrid cars. The automotive
good combination of economic oppor-
sector is looking at Eemshaven and are
tunities together with boosting on and
interested in port areas where they can
offshore green power.”
develop their newly-built cars, which is really cool. It is something we are anticipating now, but we weren’t three years ago. This sector is again new economy industry, which fits well with the infra-
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structure at our port,” says Van Tuinen.
w w w. g r o n i n g e n - s e a p o r t s . c o m
Handelskade Oost 1
9934 AR Delfzijl Netherlands T +31 596 640 400
www.groningen-seaports.com